"It used to be that one would read TNR to see what liberals think. Now you read it to see what a thoughtful person should think," he says.

In recent years some have criticized the magazine, claiming it has drifted somewhat in its ideological views and that it has become too cynical. But its editors maintain that it still plays a "central role in defense of subtle, nuanced argument."

"The New Republic, with all its twists and turns and mistakes, is still The New Republic," says Lane. "The hallmark of a TNR article is a certain skeptical and independent interpretation."

"One of the great things about the magazine is that it has dedicated itself to not being beholden to any ideology," Cohn agrees. "The bread and butter has always been about being an unorthodox magazine with different ideas. Ideology doesn't come before reality--there's sensibility behind everything."

Perhaps this is the reason readers are continually drawn to The New Republic: it deals with ideas, not ideologies. While what it means to be "liberal" might change from time to time, the principles behind The New Republic, for the large part, haven't changed.

As mainstream media becomes slowly transformed--as quality public discourse becomes increasingly crowded out by the mundane, the extreme and the sensational--TNR acts as a reliable reservoir for thought-provoking ideas.

"The appeal of TNR," says Cohn, "is that it's not afraid to be serious."