• by Fern Siegel , March 10, 2012

The nearly 100-year-old political magazine, The New Republic has a new owner. Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes took a majority stake in the title -- as well as the posts of editor in chief and publisher.

Current EIC Richard Just will become the magazine's editor.

According to The New York Times, the acqusition comes three years after Martin Peretz, who had owned TNR for more than 30 years, bought it from CanWest Global, which acquired it in 2007.

While not profitable, the famed liberal weekly has expanded its digital presence with a paywall added in 2010 and an app that launched last summer.

Hughes said he supports enterprise reporting in the digital age.

In a letter he cowrote with board chair Laurence Graftstein and Just, he cited the importance of tablets and mobile devices and the opportunity to "reinvigorate the forms of journalism that examine the challenges of our time in all their complexity."