That's a fair question.
I'm sure the magazine will stand or fall on its own merits as magazines are wont to do.
I find it hard to comment either way without knowing whether this was over the one episode or are there others... can't take 'off the record' unsourced material too seriously.
Not so much here as on some of the blogspots, it is amazing to read the reactions to this (and the original NCR slimey story) sorry mess. More circular firing squads amongst the non-liberal Catholics.
I think the reason is, that despite all the self-criticism of the debate here on FR, we are truly concerned with the essentials of the Catholic faith. The debate really gets down to the nitty-gritty. For those, however, who are more tied up in the political culture, then the fall of someone like Deal Hudson is a major, major event. It's ironic that on a political website like FR, the Catholics would be less politically inclined and more concerned with doctrines rather than personalities.