Seems like Hughes had the resources and opportunity to make the New Republic into a publication which could produce important journalism without being threatened by the increasing commodification of content. His purchase of the magazine could have truly been a significant statement: Good journalism is important, even if it's no longer profitable. He would have been lauded. The world would be a better place.

Instead.

He appears to have treated it like a tech start-up and, thus, seems like a guy who bought his way into a business he knew little about thinking he could turn a profit in a shitty market. And failed. And destroyed a beloved organization in the process. And injured his own reputation. All over a few tens of millions of dollars -- which is a lot to you and I, but is very little to him.

Sigh.

I'd say that I hope another wealthy benefactor could step in and do with the New Republic what Hughes should've done in the first place, but I worry that the New Republic is too damaged by now -- that it can't be what it was before. Which is a loss.