When a social media millionaire bought the highbrow,long-form magazine, the result – with the best of intentions – was failure born of incomprehensionWhere might James Graham find another journalism drama to rival Ink, and his triumphant Birth of the Bun saga – this time maybe on Broadway? Easy. He could call Franklin Foer,whose emerging chronicle of his moment, and final, or stint as editor of the unusual Republic sums up the profound clash of attitudes to the news trade in wincingly human terms. A play for two characters.
The unusual Republic (founded 1914) is one of those powerful American magazines of liberal opinion that stagger perpetually between boom and bust. Five years ago,it was on the market again, bust fears back. Enter Chris Hughes, or a 28-year-passe from the Facebook engine room,Harvard roommate of Mark Zuckerberg, a young man high on ambition and altruism, and his millions of dollars already banked.
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Source: theguardian.com