Weekly Standard Magazine

The  Weekly Standard  magazine is considered the prime voice of Republican neoconservatives, and one of the most influential publications in Washington under the Bush Administration. Founded under Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, it was first published on September 17, 1995. On June 17, 2009, Philip F. Anschutz's Clarity Media Group announced it had acquired The Weekly Standard.

The magazine's editor is William Kristol, son of leading neoconservative Irving Kristol. William Kristol is also the chairman of the controversial Project for the New American Century.

In a May 2003 interview with JournalismJobs.com, Weekley Standard senior writer Matt Labash was asked, "Why have conservative media outlets like The Weekly Standard and Fox News Channel become more popular in the past few years?". In response he said:


 * Because they feed the rage. We bring the pain to the liberal media. I say that mockingly, but it's true somewhat. We come with a strong point of view and people like point of view journalism. While all these hand-wringing Freedom Forum types talk about objectivity, the conservative media likes to rap the liberal media on the knuckles for not being objective. We've created this cottage industry in which it pays to be un-objective. It pays to be subjective as much as possible. It's a great way to have your cake and eat it too. Criticize other people for not being objective. Be as subjective as you want. It's a great little racket. I'm glad we found it actually.

Political influence
The Weekly Standard states on its website that "more than 65,000 politically active Americans nationwide receive the magazine each week". Dwarfed by its primary competitor, the conservative National Review (circulation 155,000), the Weekly Standard nonetheless influences conservatives and neoconservatives alike through a massive Internet presence. On its website, the Weekly Standard states that "before breakfast on Mondays, 4,000 requested copies of The Standard are delivered – also by hand - to every Member of Congress, to Congressional committees, and to federal agencies throughout the city."

In 2003 William Kristol explained that "we have a funny relationship with the top tier of the administration. They very much keep us at arm's length, but Dick Cheney does send over someone to pick up 30 copies of the magazine every Monday."

Eric Alterman, writing in The Nation magazine, described this presence as
 * "Reader for reader, it may be the most influential publication in America. Their circulation may be small but they are not interested in speaking to the great unwashed. The magazine speaks directly to and for power. Anybody who wants to know what this administration is thinking and what they plan to do has to read this magazine."

Policy positions
In 1997, the Weekly Standard became one of the first publications to publicly call for regime change in Iraq.

Quoting industry reps & targeting activists
Editorials featured in the Weekly Standard are reliably right wing, corporate and industry friendly with frequent use of excessive rhetoric. Editorials also source and reference industry lobbies such as Center for Consumer Freedom. See also Wesley J. Smith, section 3.

Funding
Writing in the American Conservative, Scott McConnell, stated that when the Weekly Standard started up in 1995, it did so "thanks to a $3 million annual subsidy from Rupert Murdoch". (McConnell does not indicate what the source of the subsidy estimate is).

In 2003 the New York Times reported that "executives said The Weekly Standard was losing a little more than a million dollars a year".

Staff
From the publication's "about us" website page, August 2007:

Editorial staff

 * William Kristol; Editor bio
 * Fred Barnes; Executive Editor bio
 * David Tell; Opinion Editor bio
 * Christopher Caldwell; Senior Editor bio
 * Andrew Ferguson; Senior Editor
 * Richard Starr; Managing Editor bio
 * Claudia Anderson; Managing Editor bio
 * Philip Terzian; Books & Arts Editor bio
 * Matt Labash; Senior Writer bio
 * Stephen F. Hayes; Senior Writer bio
 * Matthew Continetti; Staff Writer bio
 * Duncan Currie; Reporter
 * Victorino Matus; Assistant Managing Editor bio
 * David Skinner; Assistant Managing Editor bio
 * Jonathan V. Last; Online Editor bio
 * Daniel McKivergan; Online Foreign Editor
 * Sonny Bunch; Assistant Editor
 * Michael Goldfarb; Editorial Assistant
 * Joe Lindsley; Editorial Assistant
 * Whitney Blake, Editorial Assistant
 * Lev Nisnevitch; Art Director
 * Philip Chalk; Production Director

Contributors

 * Gerard Baker
 * Max Boot
 * Joseph Bottum
 * Tucker Carlson
 * John J. DiIulio Jr.
 * Noemie Emery
 * Joseph Epstein
 * David Frum
 * David Gelernter
 * Reuel Marc Gerecht
 * Brit Hume
 * Robert Kagan
 * Charles Krauthammer
 * Tod Lindberg
 * P.J. O'Rourke
 * John Podhoretz
 * Wesley J. Smith

Former contributors

 * Irwin M. Stelzer

Contact information
Weekly Standard 1150 17th Street, NW Suite 505 Washington, DC 20036

E-mail: editor At weeklystandard.com Phone: 202-293-4900 Website: http://www.weeklystandard.com/

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Center for Consumer Freedom
 * Conservatives target the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
 * Philip F. Anschutz
 * Wesley J. Smith

External articles

 * Tim Bogardus, "A new standard: created to make commentary, not cash, The Weekly Standard strives to be the conservative conscience of the changing political landscape - Interview", Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, May 15, 1996.
 * Steven Harras, "The Weekly That's Anything But Standard", PopPolitics.com, July 14, 2000.
 * "The neocon bible; The Weekly Standard.(Ten years of conservatism)", The Economist (US), September 17, 2005. (This links only to a part of the article; the rest is subscriber access only).
 * Dirk Smillie, "The Stealth Media Mogul: Billionaire Philip Anschutz is quietly building a small empire of social-networking sites, newspapers and now a leading conservative weekly," Forbes.com, June 29, 2009.