You're not going to have much political influence ("travel") if you don't have readership.

TNR has been floundering for an ideological voice since the end of the Cold War, and took quite a few hits to its credibility under Peretz. Readership was down for a reason.

A sympathetic view would be that Hughes wanted to go for a technical solution - invest in TNR's digital presence - rather than completely purge the staff as Peretz did in the 1970s. Too bad the effect was the same.