(Redirected from Commentary Magazine)
'''Commentary''' is an
American monthly
magazine covering
politics,
international affairs,
Judaism, and social, cultural, and literary issues.
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. It reversed this leftward shift, in counter-countercultural fashion, starting in the late 1960s, and became what it still is—one of the primary homes of
neoconservatism.
[1][2]
Now 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.
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.
Also in January 2007, ''Commentary'' launched a new blog, ''contentions''.
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 praiseworthy 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.
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.
Current Staff
★ Editor, Neal Kozodoy
★ Senior Editor,
Gabriel Schoenfeld
★ Managing Editor, Gary Rosen
★ 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
★ Online Manager, Davi Bernstein
Notable contributors
References
1. ''Jewish Quarterly'' article
2. ''Williams Free Press''- Gerson
★
''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
External links
★
''Commentary'' website
★
''contentions'' blog