Report: Weekly Standard Staff ‘Bracing for the Worst’ After Search for Buyer Fails

The future of The Weekly Standard, a conservative opinion magazine turned Never-Trump publication, is “uncertain,” a top editor has told staffers, according to a report.

CNN, citing two unnamed sources, reports Editor-in-Chief Stephen Hayes phoned employees Tuesday, saying he is unsure what will happen to the magazine.

CNN reports:

The magazine’s precarious position comes after its leadership spent months searching for a buyer, the people told CNN.

The people explained that The Weekly Standard’s leadership had butted heads with MediaDC, the current parent company of the magazine, and that the two parties had agreed to allow Hayes to search for a new owner.

However, MediaDC recently informed The Weekly Standard’s ownership that the company was no longer interested in a sale, the people said.

…

Employees at the magazine are bracing for the worst, multiple people familiar with the matter told CNN.

Earlier Tuesday, OANN White House correspondent Emerald Robinson reported that the magazine is expected to cease operations “in a few weeks.”

The report comes a day after its parent company, Clarity Media Group, announced the Washington Examiner – also owned by the New York-based media holding company – will relaunch its weekly print magazine with national distribution and increased “editorial range.”

Hayes has not commented publicly on the report, while MediaDC press representative Alex Rosenwald told CNN that he is unaware of the circumstances surrounding The Weekly Standard.

Co-founded by Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes in 1995, The Weekly Standard, the once-influential neoconservative magazine, has seen its readership shrink dramatically in the Trump-era.