Another Never-Trumper Goes Out Of Business!

CNN had more:

The fate of The Weekly Standard, the conservative magazine that has staked out a position as a publication on the right still critical of President Donald Trump, is uncertain, Editor-in-Chief Stephen Hayes told staff in a series of phone calls Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the matter.

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 publisher 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 leadership that the company was no longer interested in a sale, the people said.

Instead, Ryan McKibben, the chairman of MediaDC, asked to meet with Hayes in a meeting tentatively scheduled for late next week, the people said. McKibben, they said, also requested the entire staff of The Weekly Standard be made available following the meeting.

That request, coupled with MediaDC's Monday announcement that its other conservative news organization, The Washington Examiner, would be expanding its magazine into a weekly publication, has left The Weekly Standard's leadership worrying about the future of the magazine.

One of the people familiar with the matter told CNN that the Washington Examiner is expanding at the expense of The Weekly Standard.

The person's view was that "they're expanding the pro-Trump magazine that does what the owners want, while threatening closing of an independent magazine that has its own history and identity."

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

Alex Rosenwald, a spokesperson for MediaDC, told CNN in a phone call on Tuesday morning that he was not aware of The Weekly Standard's situation. Rosenwald said he was focused only on the marketing for the just-announced Washington Examiner Magazine. Rosenwald did not respond to an email or phone call on Tuesday afternoon requesting comment after CNN had learned of Hayes' phone calls to staffers.

However, after this story was originally published, a spokesperson for Clarity Media Group, Inc., the parent company of MediaDC, released a statement to CNN.

"It is no secret that news organizations across the U.S. are dealing with an evolving business landscape," the statement said. "The Weekly Standard is dealing with these same issues. Clarity Media has been exploring a number of possibilities regarding the future of The Weekly Standard. At this time, Clarity does not have any news to share about its evaluation process."

Hayes did not respond to emails on Monday and Tuesday requesting comment.

Read More >> Federal Judge Just Ruled AGAINST Hillary Clinton; She Must Testify Under Oath

Read More >> Trump Has Undercover Agents In The Migrant Caravan!

And from the Washington Times:

The Weekly Standard, founded by conservative pundits Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes in 1995, may be on its last legs.

Sources told The Daily Caller on Tuesday that funding for the magazine has dried up due to billionaire Philip Anschutz’s displeasure with its editorial direction.

“I don’t expect it to exist after December 14, 2018,” one editor told the website. “There is no budget for it AT ALL.”

One staffer said that Weekly Standard editor in chief Stephen Hayes did not know more than early reporting by CNN.

The editor also rejected rumors that publisher MediaDC would fold elements of The Weekly Standard into The Washington Examiner.

“I don’t think ‘folded’ is the right word,” the editor said. “It sounds more like [they’ll] get rid of us entirely.”

A spokesperson for Mr. Anschutz did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.