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New Republic sold to Win McCormack

by Jesse Byrnes - 02/26/16 1:35 PM ET

Chris Hughes, the Facebook co-founder who purchased The New Republic four years ago, has sold the century-old liberal publication to Portland- and New York-based publisher Win McCormack.

The sale of the publication was announced Friday. McCormack has served as the top editor of Tin House, a literary quarterly, since 1999 as well as the editor-in-chief of Tin House Books since 2003.

{mosads}”The New Republic was founded in 1914 as the organ of a modernized liberalism and then-dominant Progressive Movement, and has remained true to its founding principles, under all its multiple owners, ever since,” McCormack said in a statement announcing his purchase.

“We intend to continue in that same tradition, preserving the journal as an important voice in a new debate over how the basic principles of liberalism can be reworked to meet the equally demanding challenges of our era.”

Hamilton Fish, a former publisher of The Nation and current publisher of The Washington Spectator, will serve as the journal’s new publisher and editorial director, The New Republic said.

Hughes, 32, announced in January that he was putting The New Republic up for sale, calling for “new leadership and vision” at the magazine he acquired in 2012.

A large number of journalists at the publication resigned en masse in December 2014 after editor Franklin Foer and literary editor Leon Wieseltier left.

The price of the sale was not released Friday. CNN reported last month that Hughes had bought the publication in 2012 for $2.1 million, citing unnamed sources. Hughes had said he put more than $20 million into the publication.

“When I announced my intention to sell The New Republic last month, my goal was to find the right steward to ensure that TNR continues to be impactful and relevant,” Hughes said in a statement Friday.

“I had many conversations with qualified candidates, and of those I ultimately concluded that Win McCormack and Ham Fish are those stewards. Their backgrounds in journalism and progressive politics make them uniquely qualified to lead such a historic institution. I look forward to watching their progress over the years to come.”

Tags Chris Hughes The New Republic The New Republic