ENG 316: Uphill Battle For Newsweek

Courtesy: Newsweek / Wikipedia

Newsweek, a highly popular magazine with a national and international audience, is bidding "adieu" to print and switching to an all-digital format in 2013.

The news magazine, which has been around since 1933, has become a staple for many if not all journalists and other consumers. The move stems from a recent report where IAC, which owns 80% of Newsweek, saw its losses rise to $13.2 million from just $2.8 million a year ago, according to The New York Observer.

The move to an all-digital format “would dramatically decrease those loses,” said Barry Diller, chairman and chief executive of IAC in a quarterly earnings call, reported by The New York Observer.

But now the real challenge is getting those loyal print subscribers to change with them. Newsweek realizes it is "easier said than done" in another article written by Chris O' Shea of Fishbowl NY.

As O' Shea later pointed out, although the whole iPad and tablet experience is great, "people who subscribe to a magazine do so because they love the printed version."

Only time will tell how this works out for Newsweek. But with a loyal print subscription it will only be an uphill battle.

Reflection: Both articles are written well and explain the challenges looming for Newsweek. Both used good quotes to explain and back up each authors' purpose. 

The New York Observer story

Fishbowl NY story