“I don’t want to get too deep in the weeds about it, but I will tell you that I came to not enjoy working with the magazine team,” she said, adding that she was disappointed Olasky and other staffers criticized World on the way out the door.
Terry Mattingly, a veteran religion columnist and senior fellow at the Overby Center at the University of Mississippi, said the conflict between Olasky and other leaders at World over the new opinion section is understandable. Much of the traffic and energy online is driven by hot takes and opinions, and every publication has to reckon with that. He also said Olasky, a longtime friend, believes World’s new initiative is joining a crowded field where its competitors will already be far ahead.
He sees Olasky’s resignation as part of a sincere conflict over World’s future and its editor-in-chief’s legacy.
“Any man who has dedicated decades of his life to an institution probably doesn’t like having the identity of that institution changed,” he said.
For his part, Olasky, who also taught journalism at the University of Texas and runs the World Journalism Institute, described the end of his tenure as editor-in-chief in bittersweet terms, saying he’d heard from many former students in recent days, with fond memories and kind words. One former student who clashed with Olasky referred to him on Twitter with an expletive, but then added that he made her a better journalist. The exchange made him smile.
He also praised the magazine staff who remain at World, as well as all the other people who make the journalism at the magazine possible. While he believes strongly in separation between the business side of journalism and the editorial side, he is thankful for those on the business side, calling their work essential. And he plans to continue as dean of the World Journalism Institute, where he has long trained young journalists.
Until recently, he thought any internal conflicts at World could be overcome. He knew, for example, that some board members were not fans of Olasky’s criticism of Trump, whom the magazine labeled as “unfit for power” in October 2016. Still, he remained as editor-in-chief for five more years. And a review of World’s financial reports to the IRS showed no change in revenue that correlates with the criticism of Trump.
Olasky said he remains hopeful about the future of World, of America and of the Christian church. In a recent column, he warned about the dangers of a “Flight 93” mindset, a reference to the passengers on a United flight on 9/11 who fought back against their hijackers. That mindset can lead people to conclude the nation is headed toward civil war. Instead, he argued that Christians should not lose faith or see their opponents as enemies.
He points to his own conversion as a sign of God’s grace. Born into a Jewish family, Olasky gave up on God as a young man, becoming an atheist and communist in the 1970s as a student. Then he had a dramatic conversion.
“I have learned, both from history and from my own personal experience, not to underestimate what God can do,” he said.
This article originally appeared here.
