''The American'' was an
online magazine
An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer ma ...
published by the
American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a
conservative think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-govern ...
in
Washington, D.C. The magazine's primary focus was the intersection of economics and politics. Previously known as ''The American: A Magazine of Ideas'', it was published six times annually from November 2006 to December 2008.
Origins and editorship
''The American'' was founded in November 2006 by
James K. Glassman, the former president of ''
The Atlantic Monthly
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' and former publisher of ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
'', as an AEI project. It replaced the previous public-affairs magazine published by AEI, ''
The American Enterprise''.
Publication of the first issue was delayed until after the
November 2006 election to include election results.
In late 2007, Glassman left ''The American'' to serve as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy in the
George W. Bush administration; he was succeeded as editor-in-chief by Nick Schulz, who had served as a senior editor of the young magazine since its founding; the first issue edited by Schulz was labeled March/April 2008. (Glassman and Schulz had previously collaborated on
TCS Daily.) Schulz is also the DeWitt Wallace Fellow at AEI.
In November 2008, AEI ended the print version of the glossy magazine due to its "'hemorrhaging' cash."
Content
The magazine published articles and book reviews—some topical, some reported, some analytical—on subjects at the intersection of economics, business, politics, and American public policy.
[Archives]
at American.com, accessed January 19, 2009. Current online content includes articles similar to those in the print version, traditional op-eds, "DataPoints" on public opinion (compiled by
Karlyn Bowman Karlyn H. Bowman, formerly known as Karlyn H. Keene, is a politically conservative American editor and public opinion analyst. She is currently a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. She was the managing editor of ''Public Opinion'' ...
), and, since May 2009, th
Enterprise Blog which features contributions from AEI scholars and staff members.
Editorial stance
"Our perspective," Glassman said at the magazine's launch, "is not partisan, but it is rooted in
liberal,
free-market economics
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
."
[ Glassman said in 2006 that he believed "the three major business magazines"—that is, '']Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'', ''Fortune
Fortune may refer to:
General
* Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck
* Luck
* Wealth
* Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling
* Fortune, in a fortune cookie
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
'', and '' BusinessWeek''—"have, in an attempt to get a broader audience, gone downscale," creating a "big opening" for an intellectual magazine about business that is "absolutely not partisan or ideological—mainly a reported magazine rather than a magazine of opinion."[
Liberal writer ]Jonathan Chait
Jonathan Benjamin Chait () (born May 1, 1972) is an American pundit and writer for ''New York'' magazine. He was previously a senior editor at '' The New Republic'' and an assistant editor of ''The American Prospect''. He writes a periodic co ...
remarked in ''The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
'' (which Glassman had published from 1981 to 1984) that ''The American'', in replacing '' The American Enterprise'', "seems less dewy-eyed about the virtues of democracy and far more dewy-eyed about the virtues of the bottom line. Out is the conservatism of Paul Wolfowitz. In is the conservatism of Montgomery Burns."[American Pie]
Jonathan Chait, ''The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
'', May 31, 2007.
Contributors
Among the noteworthy contributors to ''The American'' have been:[
* Michael Barone
* Gary Becker
* ]Tom Bethell
Tom Bethell (; July 17, 1936 – February 12, 2021) was an American journalist who wrote mainly on economic and scientific issues.
Life and career
Bethell was born and raised in London, England. He was educated at Downside School and Trini ...
* Arthur C. Brooks
* Daniel Drezner
* John Fund
* Victor Davis Hanson
* Michael Ledeen
* Stephen Moore
* Kevin M. Murphy
* Charles Murray
* Norman J. Ornstein
* Henry Petroski
Henry Petroski (February 6, 1942) is an American engineer specializing in failure analysis. A professor both of civil engineering and history at Duke University, he is also a prolific author. Petroski has written over a dozen books – beginning ...
* Amity Shlaes
Amity Ruth Shlaes (; born September 10, 1960) is a conservative American author, writer, and columnist. She writes about politics and economics from a classically liberal perspective. Shlaes has authored five books, including three New York Times ...
Notable stories
Luke Mullins's interview of a white-collar criminal who spent time in a minimum-security prison, which stated that minimum-security prisons were no longer "country-club prisons,"
prompted criticism by Peter Carlson in a column in ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
''.
Notes
External links
The Enterprise Blog
The American Enterprise Institute website
{{DEFAULTSORT:American
Conservative magazines published in the United States
Defunct political magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 2006
Magazines disestablished in 2008
Magazines published in Washington, D.C.
Online magazines published in the United States
Online magazines with defunct print editions