After WORLD Magazine’s editor-in-chief, Marvin Olasky, resigned last November, CEO Kevin Martin told The Roys Report (TRR) that “Nothing has changed with regards to our direction, with regards to reporting first.”
But the magazine’s top journalists soon quit. And now, Olasky is publicly questioning the evangelical Christian magazine’s commitment to independent journalism.
In a column published Wednesday in Current, Olasky wrote that WORLD’s executives have compromised its news coverage by opening the door to “pay-to-play and editorial favoritism.”
TRR reached out to Martin for a response. He did not address the allegation, but stated, “Marvin’s time with WORLD was very fruitful, and we owe him a lot. We hope his remaining years are similarly productive.”
Olasky had been editor-in-chief at WORLD since 2001. He, two top editors, and a senior reporter resigned within days of each other last fall, TRR previously reported.
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Since then, former editor Michael Reneau, former national editor Jamie Dean, and former senior reporter Emily Belz have also moved on.
They were the top seven journalists on WORLD’s masthead before Olasky’s resignation.
WORLD had “editorial independence” during Olasky’s 30-year tenure there, Olasky wrote. Its reporters covered stories whether or not they angered advertisers or donors, Olasky claimed. As a result, readers trusted the publication’s “accountability reporting,” he said.
The magazine was among the first to report on now-disgraced Mars Hill Church founder Mark Driscoll. WORLD also stood by TRR’s founder Julie Roys when James MacDonald and Harvest Bible Chapel sued her in 2018, in the middle of an investigation for WORLD.
“In 2021, though, WORLD’s board decided things had to change,” Olasky wrote. He explained that the board didn’t formally break down the barriers keeping donors and advertisers from influencing news coverage, “but it did take actions that had that effect.”
This included launching an opinion section without the editorial department’s oversight and designating Martin the “quarterback” of WORLD’s journalism, according to Olasky.
Olasky wrote that the columns in the new WORLD Opinions didn’t meet the standard of “sensational facts, understated prose.” He quoted from a column by managing editor Andrew T. Walker as an example of WORLD’s tendency for the columns to be mere “blasts at ‘the hypocrisy of our ruling class’.”
He also wrote that WORLD now seems “afraid to offend the right.” He noted that the magazine in 2020 reported on sexual harassment allegations against Madison Cawthorn, when Cawthorn was a Republican candidate for Congress. But it hasn’t covered Cawthorn’s more recent controversies, he noted.
“Maybe the omissions were accidental,” Olasky wrote, “but when the wall of separation comes down, suspicion grows: Did WORLD skip a story that would have disturbed donors?
“WORLD’s two top business executives now sit on an editorial council that decides policy concerns,” Olasky wrote. “That opens the door for questions about pay-to-play and editorial favoritism based on donor desires.”
WORLD’s current masthead shows Martin and Chief Content Officer Nick Eicher are on its editorial council, alongside four executive editors and WORLD Radio’s executive producer. (Disclosure: The author of this article, Sarah Einselen, attended an all-expenses-paid 2012 conference put on by WORLD Journalism Institute, WORLD’s training and career arm.)
One of WORLD’s defenders, William Wolfe, called Olasky’s criticism a symptom of “woke forces” at the magazine—echoing what Olasky had called a “conspiracy theory” surrounding WORLD’s coverage decisions in 2020. Wolfe was a Trump administration official and is pursuing a Master of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where WORLD Opinions Editor Al Mohler is president.
https://twitter.com/William_E_Wolfe/status/1570236260941430788
Former WORLD writer Megan Basham, now an opinion writer for The Daily Wire, and WORLD Opinions contributor Bethel McGrew also accused Olasky of making baseless claims.
But journalist Napp Nazworth said the situation at WORLD reminded him of why he resigned in 2019 as politics editor for The Christian Post, a popular evangelical news outlet. Nazworth has since founded a nonprofit aimed at fighting disinformation.
I'm grateful to see @MarvinOlasky write about the changes that happened at World, which resemble my experience at The Christian Post. Lots of important lessons here. https://t.co/14um21EI5i
— Napp Nazworth (@NappNazworth) September 14, 2022
Belz, who used to be No. 2 on WORLD’s masthead, called Olasky’s account “dispassionate” and said he had omitted details about “personal attacks and double dealing he endured.”
A dispassionate account of what happened at World and its wider context. What @MarvinOlasky doesn’t report are the personal attacks and double dealing he endured when as editor in chief he challenged the changes. https://t.co/YYuYZiyqGg
— Mindy Belz (@MindyBelz) September 15, 2022
Olasky told TRR he’s received “hundreds” of positive responses to his column in the 24 hours since its publication. He added, some were “from current WORLD readers who have noticed the change.”
Some WORLD subscribers have posted on social media that they do not plan on renewing. One called the outlet “lacking.” Another said the magazine “caters to the Al Mohler brand of Reformed-ish conservative political activism.”
Sarah Einselen is an award-winning writer and editor based in Texas.
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4 Responses
Unfortunate. Olasky is a true journalist. He is unafraid to praise foes and criticize friends alike when the facts make such responses appropriate. WORLD won’t be the same without his leadership.
Marvin Olasky left World Magazine because World News Group management created an Opinions Division, separate from World magazine without asking and getting his permission, which they knew they would never get without giving him editorial oversight.
Several senior reporters and staff members also left, because when your mentor makes a career change, you are likely to reevaluate your own career plans and make changes accordingly. I note that none who left followed Olasky, not that that fact really means anything.
I expect to renew my World subscription when the time comes, next Spring.
Literally every single one of my favorite writer-journalists left World. I felt keenly the loss of all of them: Olasky, Mindy Belz, and Sophia Lee particularly. World magazine had been a staple at my house since the 90’s but we only listen to the podcast now.
Given what present cover article author Dr. Schweikart has written elsewhere about Jan 6, I think Olasky’s critique to be understated.