New York Herald Tribune survives

Geoffrey Kabaservice in his history of the decline of moderate Republicanism (*Rule and Ruin*) mentions one almost-forgotten event that may have played a significant role in that decline--the end of the *New York Herald Tribune*, the traditional voice of East Coast Establishment Republicanism, in 1966. (Technically, it was merged with two other declining papers to form the *World Journal Tribune*--popularly known as "the Widget"--but that only lasted eight months.) This demise was not inevitable. True, the *Tribune* was losing money, due in large part to labor costs. But so what? Plenty of newspapers that lose money have survived because their owners want the prestige of having them as their mouthpieces. (The *New York Post* under Rupert Murdoch has never turned a profit AFAIK. "Still, the Post gives Rupert Murdoch what he wants: influence." http://adage.com/article/media/a-newspapers-turning-a-profit/238784/) John Hay ("Jock") Whitney https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hay_Whitney could easily have afforded to keep the *Tribune* alive. As Kabaservice notes, "many conservative businessmen who were nowhere near as rich as Whitney would endure far greater losses to support conservative papers and magazines." (p. 168) He adds, "Nothing could replace the *Tribune*'s importance as a publicist for moderate Republican politicians, a mouthpiece for moderate values, and an outlet for some of the faction's best writers and intellectuals." https://books.google.com/books?id=GJ9baqZLVIYC&pg=PT195
 
I think it would have a negligible impact. The decline of moderate Republicanism isn't because they lacked a mouth piece. It is because the country became crazy from 1966-1980. Both Cold War Liberalism (Scoop Jackson Democrats) and Moderate Republicans declined as the Far Left rose and the fortunes of Conservatism rose in response.

Moderate politics in both parties would probably survive the era if the only thing that happened was the Civil Rights Movement. But the Vietnam War radicalized a lot of people and fueled more protests movements. Moderate Democrats and Republicans lost prestige because their solutions did not prevent the spread of radicalization, opening up the route for Conservatives to take over.

A mouthpiece is not enough unless the Moderate Republicans can present that their leadership can turn the tide against the leftward tilt of the country. Possibly if the NYHT is influential enough to help Ford win the election in 1976 and creates an intellectual brain trust to promote innovative "moderate" solutions (or possible sugarcoat conservative ideas as moderate ones), that might be enough to keep the moderates in charge.
 
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