Newsweek editor Tina Brown announced this morning that it will cease publication of its print edition at the end of the year and become a web-only operation.
Here is how the move was explained in a memo from Brown and Newsweek CEO Baba Shetty:
Exiting print is an extremely difficult moment for all of us who love the romance of print and the unique weekly camaraderie of those hectic hours before the close on Friday night. But as we head for the 80th anniversary of Newsweek next year we must sustain the journalism that gives the magazine its purpose—and embrace the all-digital future. …
The inexorable move to an all-digital Newsweek comes with an unfortunate reality. Regrettably we anticipate staff reductions and the streamlining of our editorial and business operations both here in the United States and internationally.
Time and Newsweek have been integral parts of the American news scene for decades and it is sad to see this happen.
But the days are long gone when people could wait to read about events in a weekly magazine, so it was inevitable.
The digital operation will be called Newsweek Global and will be on a paid subscription basis.
In 2001, Newsweek had a total paid circulation of 3,158,480, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation. But as of June of this year, circulation had fallen by more than half, to 1,527,157.
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Losses at the magazine have been reported to be about $40 million a year, and Barry Diller, the chairman of IAC, which owns both The Daily Beast and Newsweek, made it clear he would not underwrite the losses forever.
“Our offices have been filled with consultants running around with lists of people, so we knew something was about to happen,” said one staff member, who insisted on anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak and was worried about potential layoffs. One of the consultants, the person said, was Jack Griffin, a former head of Time Inc.