Leads I never thought I'd write: Newsweek magazine is up for sale, but you probably don't want to buy it.
Donald Graham, chairman of the Washington Post Company, which owns the magazine, says it's about money, of course. "The magazine would lose money in 2010," he said. "We don't see a sustained path to profitability for Newsweek."
Other national mags have been on the block too. The New York Times (still published, still profitable, thank goodness) says TV Guide was sold for one dollar; Businessweek, for 5 million in cash. The Audit Bureau of Circulations, a non-profit organization which keeps track of such things, says the circulations of Time and Newsweek now are about where they were in 1966. Wow.
The Times quotes Edward Kosner, a Newsweek veteran: "It was really important what was on the cover" of Time and Newsweek, "because it was what passed for the national press." Well, that was then. Newsweek, the Times says, had operating losses of 28.4 million in 2009, up more than 60% from the year before. Newsweek's circulation was 3.14 million in the first half of 2000, 1.97 million by the second half of 2009. Wow again.
I'm a retired reporter, something of a news junkie, but I'm part of the problem. Ten years ago, I could probably have told you what was on the cover. Not today. Too much other news--all news TV, all news internet, and so on.
Still, I'm sorry that Newsweek's fallen on such hard times. Maybe I'll read it next week? No, probably not. What I should have done was read it last week - and lots of weeks before that.
The New Busy is not the too busy. Combine all your e-mail accounts with Hotmail. Get busy.
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