That wasn't the main point of the article at all.

It's not that the staff were upset that there were going to be some business model changes (or even cuts in headcount). It's that the new leadership seems to have come in pretty cock-heaeded, and basically clueless as to how to deal with the existing culture there -- or just how to treat the staff as human beings, generally. Accomplished, senior-level people don't just resign en masse, and say things like this:

“Leon said he’s never seen any editor be so disrespected and dicked around--I’m paraphrasing--as Frank has been treated for the last couple of months,” said senior editor Julia Ioffe, describing the meeting Thursday afternoon in the newsroom, at which Wieseltier and Foer announced that they’d quit.

or this:

“It was cowardly, the way Chris and Guy went about this,” Ioffe said. “Media reporters have been calling for months, asking, ‘Is Frank fired?,’ and they’ve been lying to everybody, including Frank.”

or this:

At least the king in the Red Wedding had the balls to stab everyone in person. — Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) December 5, 2014

for no reason.

That tweet irritates me. It doesn't make any sense. What King killed people at the red wedding? The only king there was the one getting stabbed. And none of the murdering at the Red Wedding required or featured any substantial display of 'balls'. It was actually quite a cowardly act. You would think an editor at a prestigious (I'm assuming from the article - I've never read TNR) magazine would either be aware of what actually happened in the fictional event he is referencing or be above shoehorning in pop culture references for their own sake.

> What King killed people at the red wedding?

Certainly none doing the stabbing in person as described; there's certainly instances in GoT of people claiming the title King killing people personally in GoT, but the Red Wedding is equally certainly not one of them. A key aspect of the Red Wedding was that the Lord directly overseeing the killing (who also wasn't doing it personally) was (perceived up to that point to be) an ally of the targets who were his guests, and (again, perceived) opponent of the King (Joffery) whose cause was served by the killing.

Great, now apparently Renly^H^H^H^H^H Robb Truthers are a thing.

(Edited because I'm an idiot)

I am far too compulsive about reading ASOIAF theories to let this go - What are Renly Truthers (and how does it relate to the above)?

It was just an attempt at a joke - but I got my kings confused, Renly for Robb Stark. Doh! I'll turn in my nerd card at the door.

I thought same thing - while I love references to GOT it didn't make any sense.

I assume it's a reference to the stabbing performed by Roose, albeit he is not a king.

Indeed. You can even see this disrespect in the memo Vidra circulated to TNR staff announcing Foer's replacement, Gabriel Snyder (http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/305975/franklin-foer-l...):

Gabriel is ideally suited to bridge traditional journalism and digital media... He truly reflects the “straddle generation” of journalists and editors who remain deeply rooted in the qualities of traditional journalism – having worked with brands such as the New York Observer and The Atlantic – but also understands what it takes to create content that will travel across all platforms.

"Straddle generation"? Seriously? The phrase practically drips with condescension, both for Snyder and the man he's replacing. "I'm completely digital, of course; but unlike Frank, Gabriel at least has one foot in reality."

I don't find that particular phrasing condescending. It reads to me as though the writer values traditional journalism as something worth preserving and combining with new ideas.

Try replacing the context but keep the structure:

"He truly reflects the “straddle generation” of devops who remain deeply rooted in the qualities of traditional system administration – having worked with brands such as AT&T and IBM – but also understands what it takes to create applications that can scale across all platforms."

Does that somehow imply that traditional system administration is a bad thing? I don't think so.

Frankly, it's not insulting: it's absurd. If someone told me they were part of a "straddle generation" who know system admin and also create scalable apps, I'd laugh in their face.

> It's not that the staff were upset that there were going to be some business model changes (or even cuts in headcount). It's that the new leadership seems to have come in pretty cock-heaeded, and basically clueless as to how to deal with the existing culture there -- or just how to treat the staff as human beings, generally.

Good sir I am a man of great reputation and standing in my community. For you to have stabbed me with a common kitchen knife -- rather than a bejeweled, ivory handled stabbing dagger as I deserve is a great insult to me and my name. A pox upon thee and I shall die forthwith to spite you.

I think the existing culture there was already dead, it just hadn't run out of money yet. Maybe the current staff would have been happier with a dignified bankruptcy and final issue, I don't know.

"I mean, a magazine that supports the Democratic party, the Contras, Charles Murray and gay rights. That's a narrow demographic." -- Jeet Heer

Why by a niche print publication if your goal is to turn it into The Atlantic Wire or Buzzfeed?

If you want a click-driven website with some stories, just start one instead.