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For more than a half-century, Columbia Journalism Review has critiqued the news media from its perch at America’s most prestigious journalism school. Now, the magazine finds itself at the center of its own story.
Last week, the Columbia Journalism School fired the publication’s editor, Sewell Chan, after many people working under him raised complaints of unprofessional or abusive behavior. Mr. Chan was replaced on an interim basis by Betsy Morais, one of his deputies.
The leadership change leaves the magazine, a product of the Columbia Journalism School known as CJR, reeling just as it — like many of the publications it covers — is looking for a sustainable business model.
Much of Mr. Chan’s job, which he began about seven months ago after holding editing positions at The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Texas Tribune, was to help chart that new course. CJR is in the early stages of a major fund-raising campaign, with Mr. Chan as its public face until last week.
Jelani Cobb, the dean of the Columbia Journalism School and the publisher of CJR, said the school was committed to keeping the magazine alive. It hasn’t published a print edition for years, but frequently updates its website with news coverage, investigations and features.
“CJR is a crucial outlet, particularly at a time when journalism is being attacked from multiple directions,” Mr. Cobb said in a statement. “Like many media organizations, we’re navigating real challenges, but we’ve developed a thoughtful, forward-looking strategy for CJR’s long-term viability.”
CJR is synonymous with two pillars of American culture under great pressure: journalism and higher education. The magazine, founded in 1961, has historically relied on donations and university funding to survive. Both have lately come under strain, with a cash reserve drying up and Columbia’s funding situation complicated by its clash with President Trump.
In recent years, CJR relied on a $2 million cushion created during a fund-raising campaign nearly a decade ago. That reserve, which has been exhausted, was a linchpin of the magazine’s annual budget of nearly $2 million, along with supplemental funding from the university and a small amount of subscription revenue.
As that funding ran out, Columbia increased its support of CJR on a short-term basis. But that increase was supposed to be temporary, with a fund-raising campaign from the publication intended to fill the gap.
Mr. Chan was hired last year by Mr. Cobb to serve as an emissary to the wider news media industry in addition to his role as editor, making him a fund-raiser for the magazine.
Mr. Chan had begun to work with members of CJR’s supervisory board on a new fund-raising campaign, including identifying potential donors, when he was fired last week, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
The fund-raising campaign has been put on hold while the magazine figures out what to do next. The board, which was shocked by Mr. Chan’s sudden exit, the two people said, is scheduled to meet this week to discuss next steps.
Mr. Chan’s tenure atop CJR ended after an hourlong meeting Thursday between Mr. Cobb and the magazine’s editorial staff. During the meeting, roughly 10 people aired concerns about Mr. Chan’s behavior, describing insults, threats to ruin their reputations, and an atmosphere of fear and hostility, according to two people with knowledge of the discussion who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Several participants cried.
Mr. Cobb announced Mr. Chan’s departure in an email to CJR staff members the next day, and thanked them for their “resilience and dedication.”
In a statement posted to LinkedIn, Mr. Chan called his dismissal “hasty, ill-considered and quite frankly baffling,” and described three “pointed conversations” with staff members at the publication. He called them “normal workplace interactions” and said his leadership approach at CJR had been similar to his approach at previous jobs. He declined to be interviewed for this article.
Despite his short tenure, Mr. Chan had already made changes at the magazine. He resurrected and renamed CJR’s most recognizable feature — a roundup of news media missteps and plaudits now known as “Laurels and Darts.” He also outlined an editorial plan focusing on emerging topics like artificial intelligence, modern business models and the global crackdown on independent journalism.
In 2021, years before Mr. Chan was named editor of CJR, he wrote a column for the publication that in many ways foreshadowed the financial challenges he would grapple with as its editor. After combing through the CJR archives, Mr. Chan said he had concluded that journalism had “always been a tough business,” despite “nostalgic memories of ‘the good old days.’”
“The days when a top editor could focus only on stories — not digital audience, workplace culture, buyouts and layoffs, or assertive unions — are gone for good,” Mr. Chan wrote.
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