Harper's Top Editor Fired After Just 3 Months

The publisher of Harper's Magazine has fired editor-in-chief Christopher Cox over reported "editorial differences."

Cox, previously deputy editor of the publication, was promoted in October . He took over for Ellen Rosenbush, who had run the magazine since 2010 and is now its editor-at-large.

“Chris has brought in some of the most exciting work we’ve published," Harper's president and publisher John R. MacArthur said at the time. "His editorial wisdom enhances the writing in our pages and guides the work of the younger staff members."

According to Gawker, Cox was fired on Friday over his plans to redesign the magazine's cover. The New York Times also attributed  his departure to a cover redesign.

“I can confirm that I have been terminated from Harper’s Magazine because of editorial differences with the publisher,” Cox told Gawker . “I’m not prepared to say more than that at this time.”

A spokesman for Harper's declined to comment.

As The New York Times noted, Harper's is a nonprofit that relies primarily on MacArthur's family money, rather than advertising, to stay afloat. MacArthur's late father, J. Roderick MacArthur, was a successful businessman and a celebrated philanthropist  who established the revered MacArthur Fellowship program . In 1980, John encouraged him to buy the magazine. Harper's is now funded through one of the family's charitable organizations.

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