Newsweek and Time were once the Scylla and Charybdis of American journalism: large and fearsome. But first television and then the internet destroyed their reason for existing, and both have failed to reinvent themselves. Now Newsweek's owner, the Washington Post, has thrown in the towel and announced it is selling the magazine it bought back in 1961.
The only surprise is that the company has waited this long. Newsweek's paid weekly sales are said to be a mere 60,000 – although its subscription base is higher. Last year its advertising revenue declined by 37%, and the magazine made an operating loss of nearly $30m, plus similar amounts in redundancy payments.
The Washington Post put out this statement:
The Washington Post Company announced today that it has retained boutique investment bank Allen & Company to explore the possible sale of Newsweek magazine. The newsweekly was launched in 1933 and purchased by The Washington Post Company in 1961. Newsweek is an internationally known and respected publication, providing unique news, commentary and insight into political and social developments in the United States and around the world.
"The losses at Newsweek in 2007-2009 are a matter of record. Despite heroic efforts on the part of Newsweek's management and staff, we expect it to still lose money in 2010. We are exploring all options to fix that problem," said Donald E Graham, chairman of The Washington Post Company. "Newsweek is a lively, important magazine and website, and in the current climate, it might be a better fit elsewhere."
The Washington Post Company has deep pockets, thanks to its profitable Kaplan education arm, although the newspaper the company is named after suffers from many of the same problems as Newsweek. It too "might be a better fit elsewhere"?
