Haper’s Magazine is bringing in a new Editor . Christopher Beha, the novelist and  essayist is named the next editor of Harper’s Magazine

Mr. Beha, the executive editor at the august monthly, first worked at Harper’s as an intern in 2008. The job he will take later this month has been a hot seat in the world of mainstream journalism since Lewis H. Lapham stepped down as editor in 2006, after a 28-year run.

Three editors who have held the post in recent years have left the publication after differences with the publisher Mr MacArthur . Mr. Beha, whose title will be, simply, “editor,” said in an interview that he was mindful of the recent turnover. “Rick and I tried to be very clear about what our expectations for each other are, so there aren’t a lot of surprises,” he said. “Some of the other editorial ups and downs I watched from up close,” Mr. Beha added, “and maybe I learned some lessons.”

Print circulation at Harper’s has dwindled, dropping below 100,000 in the first half of the year, compared with more than 117,000 three years ago, according to the Alliance for Audited Media. While the magazine has published recent cover stories on the poor and downtrodden — homesteaders in the American West, migrants at the border between the United States and Mexico — it has also run essays critical of what its writers have seen as an intolerant strain on the left.

Mr. MacArthur defended the magazine’s stance and said Mr. Beha was committed to it. “I’m seeing more and more people refusing to engage the other side, to make an argument, to take a risk,” he said, adding, “Harper’s can’t be Harper’s if it’s not broad-minded and liberal in the grand tradition.”

The magazine has remained somewhat aloof from the web. Its metered paywall, while arguably ahead of its time, is strict, limiting nonsubscribers to one article a month.