New Magazine Offers Conservatives a Forum

George, the new political magazine edited by John F. Kennedy Jr., is arriving on a tidal wave of hype and media interest that all but obscures the launch of another power-minded publication.

The Weekly Standard went on sale Monday, quietly.

Unlike George, a bimonthly that reaches newsstands Sept. 26 sporting a cover shot of super-model Cindy Crawford, the right-of-center Standard features a gun-toting Newt Gingrich, blasting his way high above Washington. Beyond the eye-catching image of the House Speaker, the Standard offers page after page of gray text, modeled after the New Republic’s drab layout.

Although leaden in appearance, the columns of text burn with the conservative convictions of its senior staff. Editor and Publisher William Kristol is a leading Republican Party strategist who served as former Vice President Dan Quayle’s chief of staff.

Executive Editor Fred Barnes is a talking head on TV’s “The McLaughlin Group” and an alumnus of the New Republic. Deputy Editor John Podhoretz is a former Ronald Reagan speech writer. Contributors include David Frum, author of “Dead Right,” and investigative reporter David McClintick, who followed Gingrich for several months and offers in the first issue a close-up of the Speaker at work. Senior Editor David Brooks, formerly of the Wall Street Journal, allows conservatives to laugh out loud as he ruminates on the virtues of “moral sex.”

Based in Washington, the Standard is published--that is, bankrolled--by Rupert Murdoch’s News America Publishing Inc. Kristol says he hopes to reach a circulation of 100,000 copies within a couple of years.

The seismic gains of Republicans in the November elections signaled the end of the New Deal/Great Society era, Kristol says. “I do think the old liberal era turns out to be exhausted,” he says. “I’m not claiming that conservatives are firmly in the saddle, but there’s an opportunity to help shape a new era.”

Kristol characterizes the Standard as a forum for debate and discussion and says the weekly frequency will enable the magazine to stay on top of the action. In the premiere issue, he examines recent setbacks in Sen. Bob Dole’s presidential campaign and makes a case that a Colin Powell presidency “could be a useful way station on the road to a lasting conservative realignment.”

The Standard “intends to speak for, interpret and guide this realignment,” opinion editor David Tell writes in an introductory editorial. “We have every reason to expect it will last. Congressional retirements and district-by-district results from 1994 suggest . . . that Republican majorities will expand next year.

The launches of George and the Weekly Standard further crowd a lively sector of the magazine industry. The American Spectator (circulation 271,000) and National Review (240,000) have thrived as voices of opposition since Bill Clinton won the White House. The New Republic (101,000) and the Nation (89,000) both have shown gains in paid circulation since last year.

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On the Racks: Relaunched by a new owner (Hachette Filipacchi Magazines Inc.) and carrying a new cover line (“A sign of intelligent life”), Mirabella is back on newsstands after a months-long absence. Editor in Chief Amy Gross says readers want “the quick, maven-to-maven sharing of information about a mascara or a meal or a movie.” The September / October issue reflects a heightened interest in the arts and a commitment to short and tidy pieces. . . .

Spy magazine, in a piece appearing in the September / October issue, reprises detractors’ now-tiresome criticisms of the New Yorker under Editor Tina Brown (too flashy, too star-struck, too toadying). Indeed, Spy readers are supposed to be shocked-- shocked --”that writers, editors and fact checkers have to work more feverishly than ever to ensure stories’ timeliness.” However, the article by Greg Easley contains a dandy tale about how the magazine’s editors bent themselves into knots to appease Norman Mailer. Easley also suggests that the New Yorker, once profitable, is now losing $15 million a year.

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Afterwords: Sometimes the facts are steamier than fiction. On Monday, Times Books will begin distribution of “The Packwood Report: The Senate Ethics Counsel on Senator Robert Packwood, Including the Explosive Testimony and Diary Entries.” The oversize paperback will cost $10.