July 2010 issue of Liberty
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Editor | Stephen Cox |
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Categories | public policy, libertarianism |
Frequency |
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First issue | 1987 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Website | www.libertyunbound.com |
ISSN | 0894-1408 |
Liberty is a libertarian journal, founded in 1987 by R. W. Bradford (who was the magazine's publisher and editor until his death from cancer in 2005) in Port Townsend, Washington, and then edited from San Diego by Stephen Cox. Unlike Reason, which is printed on glossy paper and has full-color photographs, Liberty was printed on uncoated paper stock and had line drawing cartoons by S. H. (Scott) Chambers and Rex F. "Baloo" May, no photographs except for advertisements, and only one extra color (blue), which was limited to the cover and occasionally a few ads. Beginning in November 2010, the magazine transitioned to an online-only format.
Bradford had planned the launch of Liberty for several years during the 1980s, waiting, in part, for the development of desktop publishing software to make the endeavor cost-effective for a short-run periodical. The magazine achieved Bradford's target circulation by the end of the first year of publication. Starting it as an arm of his private publishing business, he turned the magazine over to a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation (under his control) in 1993. Until late 1998, Liberty published bimonthly. In 1999, it moved from a bimonthly to a monthly publication schedule. Beginning in 2008, the print version was published eleven times a year, with one issue being a "double issue." Beginning in November 2010, the magazine transitioned to an online-only format that does not arrange content into separate monthly or bimonthly issues.
The magazine's list of editors at start-up included Murray Rothbard; Karl Hess joined soon after. Both wrote for the magazine and both were featured prominently in subscription advertising. Rothbard left the masthead in 1990, following his break with the Libertarian Party and his public move towards paleolibertarianism; Hess stayed with the magazine until his death.