The Weekly Standard may be shutting down: reports

The Weekly Standard, a conservative magazine critical of President Trump that has been printing since 1995, may be shutting down its operations, according to two reports on Tuesday.

“Multiple sources tell me that neocon magazine @weeklystandard is expected to close its operations in a few weeks,” wrote One America reporter Emerald Robinson on Tuesday afternoon.

BREAKING: Multiple sources tell me that neocon magazine @weeklystandard is expected to close its operations in a few weeks. It had lost many subscribers since the 2016 election as its #NeverTrumper editors @BillKristol @stephenfhayes @SykesCharlie publicly aligned with the Left.

— Emerald Robinson (@EmeraldRobinson) December 4, 2018

The report echoes one from CNN that the fate of the Weekly Standard is “uncertain” due to its inability to find a prospective buyer.

{mosads}CNN reports that the chairman of the Standard’s publisher, MediaDC, has asked to meet with editor-in-chief Stephen Hayes, and that the entire staff of the publication be made available for that meeting, which is “tentatively scheduled” for late next week. 

The reports come as Clarity Media Group, which serves as the parent company of the Standard, announced that the conservative weekly magazine the Washington Examiner would be relaunching with a broader national distribution.  

“It is no secret that news organizations across the U.S. are dealing with an evolving business landscape. The Weekly Standard is dealing with these same issues,” a Clarity Media spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill.

“Clarity Media has been exploring a number of possibilities regarding the future of The Weekly Standard. At this time, Clarity does not have any news to share about its evaluation process,” the statement added.

The Weekly Standard was co-founded by Bill Kristol, currently one of Trump’s most outspoken critics from the right, and Fred Barnes, a frequent face on the Sunday political affairs program The McLaughlin Group. Critics charge the publication had alienated Trump supporters with its steadfast slamming of the president, dwindling its readership. 

Conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt took to Twitter to share his hope that a “Jeff Bezos is out there” to keep the publication running “for decades to come.” Bezos, currently the richest man in the world, according to Forbes, is the owner of Amazon and The Washington Post.

The @weeklystandard is a grand magazine, full of superb writing and analysis. Hopefully a @JeffBezos is out there to buy it and keep @stephenfhayes and gang in the game for decades to come. It’s a big, serious brand. Public minded deep pocket needed. https://t.co/uR5UZ8S75K

— Hugh Hewitt (@hughhewitt) December 4, 2018