So if CanWest is buying out 100 percent of The New Republic, why is Martin Peretz staying on as editor in chief? Well, the Official Rumor as in I heard it from A Guy who said he had it from A Guy who was in A Position to Know is that Peretz was only willing to sell on condition that he remain editor in chief for some time period (the rumors grow variable on this point) and that CanWest agreed to this condition.
Of course, in any business there are titles and then there’s power. Peretz never ran the magazine on a day-to-day basis and presumably isn’t going to start, so if he’s not going to own the magazine — even partially — it’s not clear what sort of practical influence the editor in chief title would give him. At the same time, as I said before, the family that owns CanWest has Peretz-esque views on Israel so it’s not likely that you’re going to see sweeping ideological changes as a result of this.