Commentary (magazine)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Commentary
Editor	Neal Kozodoy
Categories
Frequency	11 monthly; combined July-August issue
Circulation	27,000 / month
Publisher	Commentary Inc.
First issue	1945
Country	New York, United States
Language	English
Website	CommentaryMagazine.com
ISSN	0010-2601

Commentary is an American monthly magazine covering politics, international affairs, Judaism, and social, cultural, and literary issues.

Contents 1 History 2 Layout 3 In Popular Culture 4 Current Staff 5 Notable contributors 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

Commentary was founded by the American Jewish Committee in 1945, and bills itself as "America's premier monthly magazine of opinion." Initially, its articles and stories were from a secular American Jewish perspective; now it is not averse to theism. In its early days a strong voice for liberal anti-communism, the magazine turned left during the early 1960s. Starting in the late 1960s it reversed this leftward shift, eventually becoming a principal organ of neoconservatism.^[1][2]

Currently edited by Neal Kozodoy, its founder and original editor was Elliot E. Cohen. He was succeeded after his death in 1959 by Norman Podhoretz, who served as editor-in-chief until 1995 and is currently the magazine's editor-at-large. Beginning in January 2009 the magazine will be edited by John Podhoretz.

The magazine is no longer affiliated with the American Jewish Committee. In 2007, Commentary, Inc., an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit enterprise, became the magazine's publisher.

In January 2007 Commentary launched a new blog contentions.

[edit] Layout

Currently, Commentary prints letters to the editor that comment on various articles three issues earlier. The more critical and lengthy letters tend to be printed first and the more praiseful letters last. The author of the article being discussed almost always replies in a follow-up to his critics. Each issue has several reviews of books on varying topics. Commentary usually assigns a review to books written by notable contributors to the magazine.

[edit] In Popular Culture

In the 1977 Woody Allen movie, Annie Hall, Allen (as character Alvy Singer) makes a pun by saying that he heard that Dissent and Commentary had merged to form "Dysentery". In Bananas, as an old lady is threatened on a subway car, Woody Allen hides his face by holding up an issue of Commentary. This image is featured at the New York City Transit Museum in Brooklyn Heights. In Woody Allen's film Crimes and Misdemeanors, an issue of Commentary lies on a character's bedside table.

[edit] Current Staff

• Editor, Neal Kozodoy
• Editorial Director, John Podhoretz
• Senior Editor, Gabriel Schoenfeld
• Assistant Editor, David Billet
• Editor-at-Large, Norman Podhoretz
• Business Director, Sarah M. Stern
• Business Associate, Ilya Leyzerzon
• Sales Representative, Del Fidanque
• Production Manager, Marietta M. Gat
• Online Editor, Sam Munson
• Assistant Online Editor, Abe Greenwald
• Publisher, Teri Schure

[edit] Notable contributors

S.Y. Agnon Elliott Abrams Hannah Arendt Robert Alter Paul Auster James Baldwin Daniel Bell Saul Bellow William Bennett David Berger Peter Ludwig Berger Allan Bloom Harold Bloom Max Boot Robert Bork Peter Brimelow David Brooks William Buckley Mona Charen Linda Chavez Eliot A. Cohen Seth Cropsey Lucy Dawidowicz Midge Decter Alan Dershowitz Dinesh D'Souza Joseph Epstein Douglas J. Feith Leslie Fiedler David Frum Francis Fukuyama Frank Gaffney Sir Martin Gilbert Nathan Glazer Daniel Jonah Goldhagen Allegra Goodman Paul Goodman Clement Greenberg Ernest van den Haag Hillel Halkin Oscar Handlin Victor Davis Hanson Michael Harrington Jeffrey Hart Joseph Heller Richard Herrnstein

Arthur Hertzberg Gertrude Himmelfarb Milton Himmelfarb Richard Hofstadter Sidney Hook David Horowitz Irving Howe H. Stuart Hughes Samuel Huntington Carol Iannone Tamar Jacoby Josef Joffe Daniel Johnson Paul Johnson Donald Kagan Frederick Kagan Robert Kagan Leon Kass Jacob Katz Alfred Kazin Alan Keyes Jeane Kirkpatrick Martin Kramer Charles Krauthammer Irving Kristol William Kristol Walter Laqueur Christopher Lasch F. R. Leavis Michael Ledeen Michael Levin Bernard Lewis Guenter Lewy Seymour Martin Lipset John Lukacs Dwight MacDonald Heather MacDonald Norman Mailer Bernard Malamud Thomas Mann Leo Marx Andrew C. McCarthy Scott McConnell Hans J. Morgenthau Daniel Patrick Moynihan Joshua Muravchik Charles Murray Richard John Neuhaus Jacob Neusner Reinhold Niebuhr Robert Nisbet Michael Novak

Michael B. Oren George Orwell John O'Sullivan Amos Oz Cynthia Ozick Martin Peretz Richard Perle Joan Peters William Pfaff Daniel Pipes Richard Pipes Steven Plaut John Podhoretz Norman Podhoretz Norman Ravitch Mordecai Richler Paul Craig Roberts Peter W. Rodman Henry Roth Philip Roth Arthur Meier Schlesinger, Jr. Sam Schulman Delmore Schwartz Stephen Schwartz Dan Seligman Nathan Sharansky Martin Sieff Fred Siegel Isaac Bashevis Singer Susan Sontag Thomas Sowell Bret Stephens Leo Strauss George Szamuely Philip Taft Amir Taheri Terry Teachout Dorothy Thompson Nathan Thrall Hugh Trevor-Roper Lionel Trilling Robert C. Tucker Robert W. Tucker Leopold Tyrmand David Twersky Ron Unz John Updike Ben J. Wattenberg George Weigel Elie Wiesel James Q. Wilson Robert S. Wistrich A. B. Yehoshua Karl Zinsmeister

[edit] References

1. ^ Jewish Quarterly article
2. ^ Neocon. Chriſtian Science Monitor.

• Essays by Nathan Glazer, Thomas L. Jeffers, Richard Gid Powers, Fred Siegel, Terry Teachout, Ruth R. Wisse et al. in Commentary in American Life, ed. Murray Friedman. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2005
• New York Sun article on who attends the annual Commentary-hosted gathering
• More bio bits on Cohen and Commentary history
• Nathan Abrams, Commentary Magazine 1945–1959: 'A Journal of Significant Thought and Opinion. Bio on Cohen and Commentary's early history
• Weekly Standard article on Commentary

[edit] External links

• Commentary website
• contentions blog