Sustaining progressive media outlets is famously difficult. It’s hard to make any money, and it’s hard to raise money, too, since philanthropic donors often steer away from media. But progressive magazines and journals play an important role in American politics and culture. They investigate stories about the abuse of power that nobody else pays attention to. And they help shift key debates in public life by expanding the boundaries of what ideas and proposals are taken seriously.
Few people know the world of progressive media better than Katrina vanden Heuval, who was editor of The Nation magazine for nearly 25 years, starting in 1995. During that time, Katrina brought enormous new energy and legions of new subscribers to The Nation, which was founded in 1865 and is America’s oldest political magazine. She also emerged as one of the left’s most visible commentators, appearing regularly on “This Week” on ABC News and writing a column in the Washington Post. These days, she’s The Nation’s editorial director and publisher and writes regularly for the magazine.
In our conversation, Katrina talked about how The Nation built a base of donors and developed new revenue streams, including its cruises. Katrina led The Nation over a quarter-century marked by profound disruption to traditional media. She discusses how it adapted first to the rise of the internet and then to social media—all the while maintaining its print edition and the sense of discovery that comes from reading a magazine.
Magazines of opinion like The Nation have long played an influential role in political and cultural life and The Nation has a history of shaping important debates going back more than 150 years. But these days, it must compete with many more voices and outlets than in earlier eras—including blogs, podcasts, newsletters, Twitter and more. And so I asked Katrina for examples of how it exerted sway in such a congested information environment. She cited the magazine’s role in boosting Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign and its early coverage of key issues like economic inequality, climate change, and police abuses as examples of how The Nation legitimized causes and ideas that had previously been on the fringe.
Katrina also shared her thoughts on the state of the progressive movement today, including the generational shifts happening on the left as a new cohort of young activists and thinkers moves to the forefront. It was a really interesting conversation and I hope you’ll enjoy it.
