Liberal Weekly The Nation Sold To Paul Newman, Others

NEW YORK - The Nation, the liberal weekly founded 130 years ago by abolitionists, has been bought by a group of investors that includes Paul Newman, novelist E.L. Doctorow and the magazine's editor, Victor Navasky.

The purchase price was not disclosed yesterday. Arthur Carter had owned The Nation for 10 years.

Navasky, who has been editor since 1978 and leads the investor group, will become publisher and editorial director. Katrina Vanden Heuvel, acting editor while Navasky was on leave to write a book, will be the editor and will also have an interest in the new Nation Co.

Navasky said he has the controlling interest and described Newman's participation as big and Doctorow's as small. He did not identify other investors.

He said he believed "a deep current of liberal humanism" exists in American and that it would be the job of the magazine to tap into "a vast and unarticulated disaffection from the dominant right-center culture."