The Economist stands by decision to include Steve Bannon in event
The Economist isn't backing off from its decision to invite Steve Bannon to appear at a conference the magazine is holding later this month. The move comes after a public backlash spurred The New Yorker on Monday to rescind its invitation to the former White House strategist to sit for an interview at its annual event.
Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist, said in a letter published Tuesday on its site that in recent months the media outlet has solicited contributions from a range of people -- including those "with whose views we agree and disagree" -- in the run-up to its "Open Future" festival, set for Sept. 15 in Hong Kong, London and New York.
"Mr. Bannon stands for a world view that is antithetical to the liberal values The Economist has always espoused," Beddoes wrote. "We asked him to take part because his populist nationalism is of grave consequence in today's politics. He helped propel Donald Trump to the White House, and he is advising the populist far-right in several European countries where they are close to power or in government. Worryingly large numbers of people are drawn to nativist nationalism. And Mr. Bannon is one of its chief proponents."
Beddoes is scheduled to interview Bannon on stage as part of its event.
Bannon's planned participation in The New Yorker and The Economist events drew rebukes online, while some who said they had planned to take part said they no longer would.
"For anyone who wonders what normalization of bigotry looks like, please look no further than Steve Bannon being invited by both @TheEconomist & @NewYorker to their respective events in #NYC a few weeks apart," Chelsea Clinton wrote in a tweet.
For anyone who wonders what normalization of bigotry looks like, please look no further than Steve Bannon being invited by both @TheEconomist & @NewYorker to their respective events in #NYC a few weeks apart. https://t.co/u0TDfCYrQ1
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) September 3, 2018
I was honoured to be invited by @theeconomist to speak as part of their prestigious #openfuture convention - but I cannot in good conscience appear at an event which chooses to dignify a neo-nationalist like Steve Bannon. Unless this decision is reversed, I will not be attending. https://t.co/8UcIpABcd4
— Laurie Penny (@PennyRed) September 3, 2018
In a statement to CNBC, Bannon slammed The New Yorker and its editor, David Remnick. "In what I would call a defining moment, David Remnick showed he was gutless when he was confronted by the howling online mob," Bannon said.
Several people who were supposed to take part in The New Yorker festival, including comedian John Mulaney and filmmaker Judd Apatow, said they wouldn't attend if Bannon was there.
Beddoes, the first female editor in The Economist's 175-year history, said open conversation is essential for challenging bigotry and affirming liberal values.
"The future of open societies will not be secured by like-minded people speaking to each other in an echo chamber," she wrote, "but by subjecting ideas and individuals from all sides to rigorous questioning and debate."