I don't agree with pretty much anything that ever appeared in the Weekly Standard, but firing everybody, making them sign NDAs, and harvesting it's sub list to prop up a new venture is horrible. 
The subscriber list is really the only asset a magazine has. It's not uncommon for a bankrupt magazine to provide its readers another for the duration of their subscription—that's how that commitment is fulfilled legally—but it IS uncommon to force A out of business to help B.
More details in @oliverdarcy's piece here: cnn.com/2018/12/14/med…
