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Views » January 18, 2002

Appealing to Reason

By Craig Aaron

When James Weinstein moved to Chicago in 1976, he set out to create a fiercely independent journal that would inform, educate and critically analyze an emerging popular movement on the American left. A historian by trade, Weinstein modeled his newspaper on the Appeal to Reason, a socialist weekly that boasted more than 750,000 subscribers at its peak around 1912 and featured the writing of Upton Sinclair, Mother Jones and Eugene Victor Debs.

Weinstein’s newspaper did resemble the Appeal—in its Midwestern sensibilities and populist tone, in its orientation toward the labor movement and electoral politics, in its commitment to avoid sectarianism and foster open debate. And much like the Appeal—which challenged the robber barons of the Industrial Revolution—this newspaper was being launched, as Weinstein would recall a few years later, at a time when “Americans were beginning to lose faith, not just in a particular politician or administration, but in the existing system.”

When the first issue of In These Times appeared on November 15, 1976—just 40 cents for a 24-page tabloid—the staff saw itself at the vanguard of a new majority. As a new new left grew and prospered, they reasoned, so would the newspaper.

Oops. The left didn’t grow or prosper. Instead of riding the wave to mass appeal, In These Times has struggled to keep its head above water. Yet against the odds—and the newspaper-cum-magazine has been published during some dark days for the American left—In These Times has survived, even thrived, for 25 years. How did we make it this far?

Though relatively new to the staff, I feel qualified to answer that question, having spent the better part of the past year editing an essay collection—Appeal to Reason: The First 25 Years of In These Times (forthcoming from Seven Stories Press)—to mark the magazine’s silver anniversary. I combed through the archives, reading thousands of articles from each of the more than 900 issues we’ve published over the years. While searching for the best articles to excerpt in the book, I began to understand why—when so many other publications have come and gone—In These Times has persevered.

In These Times has never wavered from its essential mission, as Weinstein succinctly put it in the very first editorial, “to speak to corporate capitalism as the great issue of our time.” It may no longer be hailed as “the independent socialist newspaper” on the masthead, but In These Times has maintained a remarkably consistent worldview and never relinquished its vision of nurturing a viable progressive movement with broad, popular appeal.

This dedication to a pluralistic, pragmatic left has been exemplified in the diversity of our contributors (and readers): socialists and Democrats, liberals and anarchists, journalists and academics, greens and union members, even the occasional conservative or Silicon Valley tycoon. In These Times has always committed its limited resources to honest (not objective) journalism, upholding the traditions of its muckraking predecessors, challenging the conventional wisdom, and refusing to follow the agenda of political hacks or PR flacks.

While the magazine has given numerous young writers their first opportunities—and many veteran journalists a chance to write about events and ideas that matter free from ideological constraints—In These Times often has been defined by the trio of David Moberg, Salim Muwakkil and Joel Bleifuss. Their writing has set the high standards for what an In These Times story should be: clear, concise, provocative, exhaustively reported.

These are the qualities you’ll find in every issue, whether the article is written by old friends—from Pat Aufderheide to G. Pascal Zachary—or newer voices like David Graeber and Naomi Klein. Of course, all of our writers have been aided by a succession of talented, hardworking editors, a creative, resourceful art staff (especially Jim Rinnert, who has been here for more than two decades), and the truly underappreciated business department.

But most importantly, these 25 years would have been impossible without the support of our readers, donors and sustainers. Your loyalty and generosity allow In These Times to continue its increasingly important work. Here’s to all of you. Happy anniversary.
Craig Aaron is the communications director of the national media reform group Free Press and a senior editor of In These Times. The views expressed here are his own.

More information about Craig Aaron
Appeared in the February 16, 2002 Issue
Also by Craig Aaron
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