Rogers, whose grant helped to bring The Believer to the university, said in an email to The Times that she was not consulted on the sale to Paradise, and supported McSweeney’s efforts to take the magazine back. “I’m disappointed with U.N.L.V.’s lack of judgment, and, for the life of me, cannot understand why U.N.L.V. would damage its own reputation and sully my name and my foundation in this way,” she said.
The university stood by its decision.
“We weighed all viable options for the future operation of The Believer,” Jennifer Keene, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said in a statement. “This was a sound business decision and the best step forward.”
Paradise appears to have been blindsided by the backlash. Overwhelmed by the furious response from Believer fans and former staff members, Moe deleted the new content Paradise had added, he said, and temporarily took down the Paradise Media website as well as his personal LinkedIn page.
Paradise buys websites with substantial archives and makes money by tailoring the content to attract search engines, which in turn draws advertisers. It owns a number of websites beyond the Sex Toy Collective, including managementhelp.org, which is dedicated to management and business advice, and Philadelphia Weekly, an alternative newspaper that was moribund when Paradise acquired it and has since started to revive its online archives and publish new content.
The sale from Paradise to McSweeney’s came together with extraordinary speed. They had their first meeting on Friday, and by Saturday the deal was done.
“Ian and I are elated that we were able to work together to bring The Believer back home to McSweeney’s,” said Brian Dice, the president of McSweeney’s and the chairman of its board.
Readers can expect the next issue of The Believer, Dice said, by the end of the year.
