March 9

Three weeks ago (February 15) I featured Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and his partner Sean Eldridge, who are busy as activists for marriage equality. Today Hughes announced that he has purchased the venerable The New Republic magazine, a progressive political periodical.

Hughes will become Editor-in-Chief and will place emphasis on delivering the magazine content via tablet computers. He did not speculate on ending the print edition, but he mentioned that sooner than we think most readers will be reading The New Republic on a tablet.

The magazine currently employs a small staff of just 29, but Hughes announced plans to increase the magazine’s budget for reporting and analysis, so we can assume he’ll be hiring for an expanded staff.

Editor Richard Just, who will retain his post, stated in a letter to his staff:

For all of us at TNR – and, really, for anyone who believes in the enduring value of intellectual magazine journalism – this is a wonderful day. My colleagues and I can’t wait to work with Chris to bring the vision of magazine journalism we all share to more and more readers, and to continue the process of figuring out how this kind of journalism can thrive in the age of the Internet and the iPad.

Hughes told National Public Radio that "People still want independent, rigorous reporting and The New Republic has been a place where that happens." He also emphasized "freedom, equality and American responsibility" as core values written into the publication's DNA.

Time to stop fantasizing about Chris Hughes's hundreds of millions of dollars and get back to the tan lines. Enjoy your weekend!