I stopped subscribing as my interests changed, and since WFB, Jr. died, didn't give it another thought.
As for NR in pop culture, in an early Woody Allen movie, he goes into a porn and/or newspaper shop, and NR's prominently hanging among the [gay?] porn mags.
Don't remember if that was before or after Allen was on Firing Line, let alone the movie.
NR has always (starting with WFB Jr.) taken up arms in protecting the right from its own self-destructive elements. Buckley did it with the Birchers way back when, and they did it with that loony anti-Semite Buchanan a few decades later. (Ironically enough, Buchnan sought refuge in the same kooky Reform Party that Trump tried to weasel his way into as a left-of-center populist.)
The fact they’re doing it again in the face of the NYC liberal should surprise nobody - it’s what people who have things like “convictions” and “core beliefs” actually do. I applaud them for it.