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Weekly Standard

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neglected? see kristol(s)

facebook fact check, owned by Anshutz

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https://www.alternet.org/2019/08/how-low-will-they-go-climate-deniers-are-getting-personal-to-attack-this-16-year-olds-activism/

kos

One of deniers’ favorite _{lines}_, used to justify the fact that basically everyone who isn’t paid by fossil fuels debunks everything they say, is thatif you’re taking flak, you must be close to the target. It comes from World War II, when bomber pilots came under increasingly heavy fire as they approached the German’s most valuable assets.

Judging by that criteria, deniers are feeling downright terrified of 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg.

While most school children are busy enjoying summer, this August began with a _{risible attack on Greta}_ by denier from down under Andrew Bolt, which _{predictably got picked up by WUWT.}_ To her credit, Ms. Thunberg seemed relatively unfazed by major Australian newspaper the Herald Sun running Bolt’s piece calling her “deeply disturbed,”_{ tweeting in response that}_ yes, she is “indeed ‘deeply disturbed’ about the fact that these hate and conspiracy campaigns are allowed to go on and on and on just because we children communicate and act on the science.”

And the day after Greta’s tweet, none other than the bastion of mainstream liberal media, The _{New York Times, ran an op-ed}_ attacking Thunberg. The piece was authored by Christopher Caldwell, a senior editor at the conservative Weekly Standard. (Which may make you wonder about that “conspiracy campaign” targeting her.)

As Ted Macdonald notes _{in his Media Matters debunking}_ of Caldwell’s piece, the essay includes “basic climate denial and personal attacks” that “echo those that have been made in right-wing media ever since Thunberg rose to prominence.”

...We’ve known for years that theSerengeti Strategy is a key tactic of organized denial. Coined by one of _{its primary victims, Dr. Michael Mann}_, this is the term for the process of singling out and focusing negative attention on someone deniers are particularly threatened by–akin to how lions seek out a single individual on which to prey. Because it’s basically impossible for deniers to challenge the science and evidence, they instead target individuals in the hopes of harassing them into silence.

But the attacks on Greta go even further. As _{E&E’s Scott Waldman reported}_ on Friday, Thunberg’s openness about not being neurotypical has become a recurring theme to organized denial’s attacks.

In addition, then, to folks comparing her activism to the “Hitler youth,” accusations that she’s “being mercilessly manipulated by adult climate bedwetters funded by Putin,” and simple tweets like “Greta=Evil,” we’re seeing what autism expert Steve Silberman described to Waldman as “classic autism bashing.” Silberman explains how deniers “feel like they don’t have to hold back” and can “just ‘other’ her, turn her into a freak when she’s actually making more sense than 95% of the adults who have addressed this issue for the last 30 years.”

For example, Waldman mentions attacks on Thunberg’s “monotone voice” and “look of apocalyptic dread in her eyes” that apparently make her look like a “millenarian weirdo.” As autism advocate Zoe Gross points out, these could be examples of people “explicitly saying that autistic people are not worth listening to,” despite what should be an obvious fact that “people with all kinds of disabilities can form and express opinions, speak up for ourselves and others, and become advocates and leaders.”...As well they should. And it’s not even always much of a disability, with Thunberg herself saying while it’s “not a ‘gift,’” it “CAN be a superpower.” As Silberman describes: “unlike most neurotypical people, she can’t just shrug off the fact that of course oil company executives are going to lie and politicians who are beholden to them are going to lie. She can’t abide that, it bothers her almost viscerally.”

Which, yes, it should. It should bother all of us viscerally.

So while their attacks are even more re-Gretable than usual, it sort of makes sense that she would be targeted. As far as activists go, she’s already had an inGretable influence, and she’s just getting started.

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https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/facebooks-pathetic-attempts-appease-conservatives-backfiring-spectacularly-and

no lnx

When Facebook selected the right-wing, Iraq War-boosting magazine *The Weekly Standard* as an official fact-checking partner last year as part of its effort to combat "misinformation," progressives warned that the conservative publication would use its power to suppress accurate articles published by center-left and left-wing outlets.

That's precisely what happened.

After ThinkProgress published an article by Ian Millhiser last week arguing that Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh's comments during his Senate confirmation hearings combined with a speech he gave in 2017 eliminates "any doubt" that the judge opposes the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, the Weekly Standard deemed the article "false"—a designation that, given Facebook's rules and the platform's enormous power, cuts off 80 percent of the piece's future traffic and penalizes other pages that dare to post the article.

Expressing opposition to Facebook's decision to hand the factually-challenged Weekly Standard the power to decide what is and isn't fact-based news, The Interceptrepublished Millhiser's piece on Friday with a statement from The Intercept's editor-in-chief Betsy Reed, who condemned the social media giant's decision to tank "a fairly straightforward legal analysis" at the behest of a right-wing magazine.

"That legal analysis, the article noted, matched comments Kavanaugh had made in a speech in 2017," Reed writes. "Facebook, meanwhile, had empowered the right-wing outlet the Weekly Standard to 'fact check' articles. The Weekly Standard,invested in Kavanaugh’s confirmation, deemed the ThinkProgress article 'false.' The story was effectively nuked from Facebook, with other outlets threatened with traffic and monetary consequences if they shared it."

"The story is republished below with permission from ThinkProgress," Reed concluded, "though not from Facebook or the Weekly Standard."

...

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nicolle Wallace, former White House communications director under President George W. Bush and now one of the right-wing voices at the Democratic-leaning MSNBC, has not only been vehemently critical of President Donald Trump—she has also voiced her displeasure with the Republican Party establishment for obediently rallying around the president, including House Speaker Paul Ryan (who she described as “the incredible shrinking man” and someone whose “spine has been removed”). And there are other right-wingers as well who have been consistently critical of Trump, from journalist SE Cupp to GOP strategist Rick Wilson to Weekly Standard Publisher Bill Kristol. Although Cupp, Wilson and Kristol have all made it clear how much they dislike Trump’s presidency, none of them have defected to the Libertarian Party or the Constitution Party—seemingly, they would rather fight to save the GOP from Trumpism than abandon it. But other long-time conservatives have expressed their disdain for Trump by leaving the Republican Party. 

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Perhaps it was only a matter of time before the opinion page began parroting the talking points of White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Over the past 18 months, conservative publications ranging from theWeekly Standard to the National Review have, at various junctures, embraced the Republican standard-bearer, even after the latter outlet ran an entire issue "Against Trump." But as the august Wall Street Journal's descent into authoritarianism and deranged conspiracy theory reveals, no corner of right-wing media is immune from the disease of Trumpism.

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Philip Anschutz -- Owner of the Washington Examiner, the San Francisco Examiner, Examiner.com and the Weekly Standard, via Clarity Media Group.

Philip Anschutz, CEO of the Anschutz Corporation, has served on the boards of both the American Petroleum Institute and the National Petroleum Council and has ties to Union Pacific Railroad and Forest Oil. He owns the Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse industry auction house. Anschutz founded telecommunications company Qwest, owns the Regal Entertainment theater chain and NRC broadcasting, which operates a string of radio stations in Colorado.

Anschutz’s Clarity Media Group has played a flagship role in standing up for the billionaire Kochs over the last year. Since the Aspen meeting, pro-Koch publications from both Examiner.com and the Weekly Standard have been featured on Koch Industries’ “Koch Facts” webpage, created to dismiss allegations of Koch’s various unsavory business practices. Clarity’s outlets also published articles attacking Greenpeace after our March, 2010 release of Koch Industries: Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Movement.

The Weekly Standard, which published a lengthy defense of the Koch brothers in March, 2011, has also been a promoter of so-called “climategate” emails. The magazine has served as a platform for prominent career climate skeptics Steven Hayward and Kenneth Green of the Koch-funded American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

Forbes estimates that Anschutz is the 34th richest American, just above Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, with a net worth of seven billion dollars.

SW

The Weekly Standard magazine is considered the prime voice of Republican neoconservatives, and one of the most influential publications in Washington under the Bush Administration. [1] Founded under Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, it was first published on September 17, 1995. On June 17, 2009, Philip F. Anschutz's Clarity Media Group announced it had acquired The Weekly Standard.[2]

The magazine's editor is William Kristol, son of leading neoconservative Irving Kristol. William Kristol is also the chairman of the controversial Project for the New American Century.

In a May 2003 interview with JournalismJobs.com, Weekley Standard senior writer Matt Labash was asked, "Why have conservative media outlets like The Weekly Standard and Fox News Channel become more popular in the past few years?". In response he said:

Because they feed the rage. We bring the pain to the liberal media. I say that mockingly, but it's true somewhat. We come with a strong point of view and people like point of view journalism. While all these hand-wringing Freedom Forum types talk about objectivity, the conservative media likes to rap the liberal media on the knuckles for not being objective. We've created this cottage industry in which it pays to be un-objective. It pays to be subjective as much as possible. It's a great way to have your cake and eat it too. Criticize other people for not being objective. Be as subjective as you want. It's a great little racket. I'm glad we found it actually. [3]

Contents

Political influence

The Weekly Standard states on its website that "more than 65,000 politically active Americans nationwide receive the magazine each week". [4] Dwarfed by its primary competitor, the conservative National Review (circulation 155,000), the Weekly Standard nonetheless influences conservatives and neoconservatives alike through a massive Internet presence. [5] On its website, the Weekly Standard states that "before breakfast on Mondays, 4,000 requested copies of The Standard are delivered – also by hand - to every Member of Congress, to Congressional committees, and to federal agencies throughout the city." [6]

In 2003 William Kristol explained that "we have a funny relationship with the top tier of the administration. They very much keep us at arm's length, but Dick Cheney does send over someone to pick up 30 copies of the magazine every Monday." [7]

Eric Alterman, writing in The Nation magazine, described this presence as

"Reader for reader, it may be the most influential publication in America. Their circulation may be small but they are not interested in speaking to the great unwashed. The magazine speaks directly to and for power. Anybody who wants to know what this administration is thinking and what they plan to do has to read this magazine." [8]

Policy positions

In 1997, the Weekly Standard became one of the first publications to publicly call for regime change in Iraq.

Quoting industry reps & targeting activists

Editorials featured in the Weekly Standard are reliably right wing, corporate and industry friendly with frequent use of excessive rhetoric. Editorials also source and reference industry lobbies such as Center for Consumer Freedom. [9] See also Wesley J. Smith, section 3.

Funding

Writing in the American Conservative, Scott McConnell, stated that when the Weekly Standard started up in 1995, it did so "thanks to a $3 million annual subsidy from Rupert Murdoch". (McConnell does not indicate what the source of the subsidy estimate is). [10]

In 2003 the New York Times reported that "executives said The Weekly Standard was losing a little more than a million dollars a year". [11]

Staff

From the publication's "about us" website page, August 2007:

Editorial staff

Contributors

Former contributors

Contact information

Weekly Standard

1150 17th Street, NW

Suite 505

Washington, DC 20036

E-mail: editor At weeklystandard.com

Phone: 202-293-4900

Website: http://www.weeklystandard.com/

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

References

  1. ↑ David Carr, "White House Listens When Weekly Speaks", New York Times, March 11, 2003.
  2. ↑ "Weekly Standard acquired by Washington Examiner parent company." Washington Examiner, June 17, 2009.
  3. ↑ Interview with Matt Labash, The Weekly Standard, JournalismJobs.com, May 2003
  4. ↑ "Readership & Circulation: Delivering Influence", accessed August 2007.
  5. ↑ Project for Excellence in Journalism, "Magazines", State of the News Media 2006.
  6. ↑ "Readership & Circulation: Delivering Influence", accessed August 2007.
  7. ↑ David Carr, "White House Listens When Weekly Speaks", New York Times, March 11, 2003.
  8. ↑ David Carr, "White House Listens When Weekly Speaks", New York Times, March 11, 2003.
  9. ↑ Michael Goldfarb Meal Time: It turns out that being overweight isn't all that bad for you. Will Bill Maher let people go back to eating what they want?, Weekly Standard, April 2005
  10. ↑ Scott McConnell, "Murdoch's mag stands athwart history yelling, "Attack!"," The American Conservative, 21 November 2005.
  11. ↑ David Carr, "White House Listens When Weekly Speaks", New York Times, March 11, 2003.

External resources

External articles

Categories:

sw

Wesley J. Smith is a conservative columnist and a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute (D.I.), [1] a think tank and conservative political, policy, economic, religious and industry lobbying organization. It is best known as the driving force behind the Intelligent design movement. Mr. Smith promotes the Discovery Institute's positions through editorials featured on D.I. [2], [3] and other conservative publications.

Mr. Smith's wife, Debra J. Saunders, occasionally writes op-ed columns in the San Francisco Chronicle on issues which overlap with D.I's agenda, though she openly discloses her relationship with Smith and his role with D.I.[4], [5] See also Debra J. Saunders.

Member organizations of D.I. include the Fur Commission. [6]

Terri Schiavo

Mr. Smith closely followed the Terri Schiavo case in 2005 and wrote frequent editorials on the topic. [7]

Quoting industry reps & targeting activists

Smith has criticized People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and animal rights in D.I. articles [8], [9] as well as other conservative publications. Some of Mr. Smith's editorials and blog reference industry reps such as David Martosko and the front group Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF):

"Doesn't the establishment of legal rights for these animals also debase humanity? At the end of the day, it is probably impossible to guarantee both "rights" for animals and disease cures for humans. I see siding with my own species as the only compassionate option. David Martosko" [10]

CCF does not advocate for "humanity". CCF sponsors have included Phillip Morris, Monsanto, Tyson Foods and Dean Foods. These corporations have a long history of gross animal welfare violations, human rights, health and environmental abuses. See also Richard Berman cares about animals: clients exposed.

According to an editorial in the National Review:

"In 2001, S. L. Davis of the Department of Animal Sciences at Oregon State University, Corvallis, wrote a paper claiming that the diet most likely to result in the deaths of the fewest animals would be beef, lamb, and dairy — not vegan. Davis found a study that measured mouse population density per hectare in grain fields both before and after harvest and estimated a harvest casualty rate of ten mice per hectare. Then, he multiplied that figure by 120 million hectares of farmland in the U.S.; meaning that 1.2 billion mice would die each year in food production if America became a wholly vegan country."[11]

Livestock consumes 47% of the soy and 60% of the corn produced in the US. [12] According the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), livestock use 30 % of the earth’s entire land surface. 70% of former forests in the Amazon have been turned over to grazing. [13] Approximately 10 billion land animals are raised and killed for food every year in the U.S. (over a million an hour).[14]

See also meat & dairy industry, section 5 & animals raised & hunted for food.

Green baiting

According to another NR editorial :

"In the Netherlands, an animal-rights extremist allegedly assassinated a candidate for parliament, perhaps because he defended pig farming in a debate with animal-rights activists. ....You have to be especially dangerous and potentially violent to warrant attention from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Cofounded by renowned civil-rights attorney Morris Dees, the group is best known for its successful legal struggle against hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nation. One of the center's most useful projects is the respected SPLC Intelligence Report (IR), a quarterly magazine that offers in-depth analysis of political extremism in the United States. The Fall 2002 IR exposes the depth of the threat of ARL terrorism — earning ALF, ELF, and SHAC a level of infamy usually reserved for American extremist groups such as the KKK, Aryan Nation, and the American Nazi party." [15]

However, according to interviews:

"Pim Fortuyn had reasonable views on the bio-industry," Pigs in Need, an animal rights group, said in a statement. 'Fortuyn believed that new agricultural policy needed to be animal friendly.'"

According to a recent book by Pim Fortuyn:

"Animal welfare must be a priority and we need to switch to less industrial production methods." [16]

The assassination was attributed to Fortuyn's views on religion and immigration. [17], [18]

According to an editorial in the Weekly Standard:

"TERRORISM TAKES MANY FORMS. Recently, animal-rights terrorists have unleashed an organized campaign of violence and intimidation against animal industries and their service companies--such as banks, auditing companies, and insurance brokers. ...One of the most active of these groups is Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC), which is dedicated to driving Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) out of business because it tests drugs on animals. ..Law enforcement is on heightened alert to protect against animal-rights terrorism, and legislation (H.R. 4239) is wending its way through the House of Representatives to make such lawlessness more easily prosecuted. These are necessary steps." [19]

The only attempted murder in the history of the U.S. animal rights movement was coordinated by corporate provocateurs.[20]

Between 1977 and January 2007, there were over 13,000 incidents targeting abortion clinics and doctors, including 7 murders. There have been over 2,100 acts of union violence between 1991 and 2001, including bombings, shootings and near fatal injuries. In 2004 alone, there were over 4,500 racially motivated incidents in the U.S. There were 1,480 incidents based on religious bias and another 1,460 based on sexual orientation. Animal and environmental groups have committed far fewer acts, yet are labeled "terrorists", while those who shoot abortion doctors or burn down synagogues are perceived only as felons.[21]

Animal activists who have been injured or killed

However, there have been a number of incidents involving victimized animal activists who have been injured or killed.

AETA (HR 4239)

HR 4239 or the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), became law on November 27, 2006 after receiving President Bush’s signature. [22]Critics have characterized this legislation as being designed to protect the financial interests of corporations, chill dissent and discourage legal activism. [23] AETA terrorism charges cannot be brought against someone whose target is "unaffiliated with an animal enterprise", which violate constitutional rights to equal legal protection. [24]

See also AETA, section 7.

Huntingdon Life Sciences & SHAC campaign

Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) is the 3rd largest contract research organization (CRO) in the world and the largest animal testing facility in Europe. Firms hire CRO's to conduct animal toxicity tests for agrochemicals, petrochemicals, household products, pharmaceutical drugs and toxins. HLS has a long history of gross animal welfare violations. They are the only laboratory in the United Kingdom ever to have their license revoked by the government.[25] The Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) campaign is an international campaign with groups in the UK, USA, France, Holland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and many other countries who target HLS and the global corporations which support them. [26]

See also Huntingdon Life Sciences & animal testing, section 3 on product (toxicity) testing.

Articles & sources

SourceWatch articles

References

  1. ↑ Bioethics, Discovery Institute, accessed December 2008
  2. ↑ Wesley J. Smith Liberation Theology The twisted thinking motivating PETA Discovery Institute, August 4, 2005
  3. ↑ Wesley J. Smith The Most Tasteless PR Campaign Ever: PETA Outdoes Itself, Discovery Institute, March 2003
  4. ↑ Debra J. Saunders Better Dead than Fed, Discovery Institute, June 2005
  5. ↑ Debra J. Saunders, American Terrorist, Discovery Institute, June 2007
  6. ↑ What is Fur Commission USA?, Fur Commission, accessed June 2009
  7. ↑ Bioethicist Wesley J. Smith Condemn's Judge's Ruling in Schiavo Case, Discovery Institute News, March 2005
  8. ↑ Wesley J. Smith Liberation Theology The twisted thinking motivating PETA D.I., August 2005
  9. ↑ Wesley J. Smith The Most Tasteless PR Campaign Ever: PETA Outdoes Itself, D.I., March 2003
  10. ↑ Wesley J. Smith The Wisdom of David Martosko, Secondhand Smoke, April 2008
  11. ↑ Wesley J. Smith Veganism is Murder, National Review, July 2008
  12. ↑ The Issues: Corn and Soy, Sustainable Table, accessed December 2009
  13. ↑ Livestock a major threat to environment: Remedies urgently needed, United Nations, FAO Newsroom, Rome, November 2006.
  14. ↑ About Farm Animals and Factory Farming, Humane Society of the United States, 2005
  15. ↑ Wesley J. Smith Terrorists, Too Exposing animal-rights terrorism, National Review, October 2002
  16. ↑ Environmental Activist Charged in Dutch Politician's Assassination, Associated Press, May 2002
  17. ↑ Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Joan Clements Fortuyn killed 'to protect Muslims, Telegraph.co.uk, March 2003
  18. ↑ Andrew Osborn I shot Fortuyn for Dutch Muslims, says accused, Free Republic, March 2003
  19. ↑ Wesley J. Smith Animal Planet, Animal-rights terrorism is on the increase and animal-rights activists aren't doing enough to stop it., Weekly Standard, May 2006
  20. ↑ Will Potter How Corporate Provacateurs Made Fran Trutt an “Animal Rights Terrorist”, Mar 25th, 2009
  21. ↑ Charlotte Laws, PhD, AETA and the New Green Scare: Are You the Terrorist Next Door?, Counterpunch, January 2007
  22. ↑ Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, Govtrack.us 109th Congress, 2005-2006
  23. ↑ Will Potter House Passes AETA With Little Discussion or Dissent: Notes from the House Floor “Debate”, Greenisthenewred.com, Nov 2006
  24. ↑ Charlotte Laws, PhD, AETA and the New Green Scare: Are You the Terrorist Next Door?, Counterpunch, January 2007
  25. ↑ Dr. Jerry Vlasik Testimony of Jerry Vlasik, M.D.: Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (“SHAC”) Eco-terrorism, U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works, October 2005
  26. ↑ Introduction to SHAC, SHAC.net, accessed May 2009

Categories:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Weekly_Standard_Magazine

BS

https://www.forbes.com/2009/06/28/anschutz-weekly-standard-business-media-examiner.html

no lnx

The Stealth Media Mogul

Dirk Smillie  Former Contributor

Jun 29, 2009,

This article is more than 10 years old.

Jim Monaghan, a longtime aide to Denver tycoon Philip Anschutz, recalls an afternoon at Washington's Union Station when a TV crew from the PBS program NewsHour had come within a hair of doing the impossible: landing an interview with Anschutz, a man who never grants them. But when the PBS crew began shooting customers receiving free copies of Anschutz's paper, the Washington Examiner, they failed to notice a man two feet away from them, dressed in a track suit and sunglasses, who was helping distribute the papers. It was Anschutz.

Why hawk his own papers undercover? To collect honest feedback from customers, says Monaghan. "Anonymity has its benefits." Anschutz has done three interviews in four decades, which he considers "three too many," says Monaghan. He declined an interview request from Forbes for this story.

Flying under the radar keeps Anschutz watchers guessing, but does it work? "So far it has," says media analyst John Morton. Anschutz's latest acquisition, The Weekly Standard, loses an estimated $5 million annually. Virtually all media accounts of the sale, announced earlier this month, reported on the transaction with no comment as to how it fits into his vast collection of business ventures. Anschutz not only doesn't grant interviews, his company releases virtually no information on sales or strategy related to his newest foray: media.

Worth an estimated $5 billion, Anschutz founded Qwest Communications and owns or controls stakes in some 100 businesses. Among them: railroads; oil companies; cattle ranching; wind farms; national park concessions; professional hockey, basketball and soccer teams; Regal Entertainment Group , the largest movie operator in the U.S.; the Staples Center and Kodak Theater in Los Angeles; the 02 Dome in London, where the late Michael Jackson planned 50 concerts; and movie production house Walden Media.

Launching free tabloid throwaways, as Anschutz has for the past five years, seems like a puzzling fit in a collection of sports and show business properties. "It's a marginal business whose success really hasn't been tested yet," says Morton. Morton should know--he suggested the concept of a free daily in Washington to editors at Time Inc. nearly 30 years ago after Time’s Washington Star folded.

Anschutz has been giving away newspapers since 2004, the year he bought the San Francisco Examiner for $11 million. He has used the 139-year-old paper to create brand extensions for two other free papers and a social-networking venture.In 2005, he launched the Washington Examiner; in 2006, the Baltimore Examiner. Both were also free and carried the San Francisco Examiner's famed "Eagle" masthead. Last year he rolled out local Web sites targeting 90 cities under the Examiner name, packed with user-generated content from contributors called "examiners." These bloggers are paid based on page views their content generates.

With no paid circulation, Anschutz delivers his tabloid newspapers using what he calls "geo-targeting." Requested or not, they land on the front lawns and porches of homes in zip codes and “census blocks” of readers whose average annual household income is $73,000 or more. The pitch to advertisers: Forget spending a fortune on CPM-based ads in The Washington Post, which will reach thousands of readers who will never buy what you're selling. You'll get a better buy spending less to reach only the richest, best-educated households. Of course, it's hard to know whether these freebie editions make it to the kitchen table or the bird cage. Monaghan says eight of 10 households that get the papers read them.

Anschutz's distribution runs are based on days advertisers think readers want to see what they're selling--Thursdays and Sundays. On Thursday, when shoppers plan for the weekend, distribution is 260,000 in Washington, 200,000 in San Francisco and 236,000 in the recently closed Baltimore paper. The latter edition has drawn national advertisers like Macy's , Southwest Airlines and Citibank, plus local patrons like WJZ-TV, CrossRoads Mortgage and the Gutter Shutter Co. But margins for free newspapers generally hover at around 6%--pretty thin to survive an ad recession. At the start of this year, all three of Anchutz's dailies were losing money. Baltimore was apparently hurting the worst, so the paper was shuttered in February. The Anschutz company that owns the papers, Denver-based Clarity Media Group, hinted that expected advertising and printing synergies between the Baltimore and Washington dailies never materialized.

Anschutz cut his losses at his Baltimore paper but doesn't seem to mind losing much more with The Weekly Standard.A bastion of leading conservative writers, including founder Bill Kristol, executive editor Fred Barnes and columnist Charles Krauthammer, it resonates with Anschutz's political conservatism. The 80,000-circulation weekly may not advance his readership footprint much, but it will give him political influence. They'll join conservative voices Anschutz already has working for him at the Washington paper, like Michael Barone and Byron York.

Could Anschutz be planning to move The Weekly Standard to a free model, as he did the San Francisco Examiner? "That would dilute their demographics," says Morton. "Besides, conservatives are already affluent."

I recently left Wall Street, where I was chief content officer at Guggenheim Partners, to work on a biography of Harry Guggenheim. Prior to that I was a senior writer at Forbes magazine. For Forbes, I've covered stories from Paris, Lyon, the Bahamas and Mexico City. Author of 'Falwell, Inc.' (St. Martin's Press). Director, News Research Group. Chair of the news category, Webby Awards and Coro Fellow in public policy. Still thinking about becoming a chef. Read Less

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