February 28, 2013

On Human Events

By: AF Editors

I don’t generally write personal blogs on this site, but this news deserves a special post.

Yesterday, the conservative weekly Human Events announced that it would stop publishing its newspaper. It was founded in 1944 and has been a mainstay of conservative journalism ever since. President Reagan even called it his favorite publication.

I became familiar with Human Events in college. My friend Rob Bluey introduced me to it when he was working there, and even published my first book review in 2006.

I was honored to be named one of the Top Ten Young Conservative Activists in the country by Human Events. Since then, it published several of my op-eds and pieces about Ithaca College and intellectual diversity. In 2012, they published my op-ed about why the rich are that way because they serve others, not through exploitation or corruption.

More recently, my friend Adam Tragone was managing editor and AF (along with IHS) hosted an event with Cathy Taylor when she became editor. I’ve always been a fan of John Gizzi‘s encyclopedic knowledge and the political quiz, which was always an educational challenge.

While I’m disappointed that Human Events will not continue in print, its a lesson in free markets. These days, it is not profitable to deliver a product when people expect it for free, regardless of the content. That’s why both the Washington Post and New York Times, along with print newspapers across the country, are downsizing and looking for new ways to make a profit. Its not the best use of resources to subsidize a product that isn’t making a profit. This is the same reason why the federal government should not subsidize any business. Its also the reason why Doublethink stopped publishing a print edition in 2009.

Thanks, Human Events, for making your contribution to the conservative movement all these years.