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''Newsweek'' is an American weekly
news magazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio, or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories in greater depth than newspapers or new ...
based in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev Pragad, the president and
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
(CEO), and Johnathan Davis, who sits on the board; each owns 50% of the company. In August 2010, revenue decline prompted
the Washington Post Company Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company) is a diversified American conglomerate holding company. Headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, and incorporated in Delaware, it was formerly the owner of ''The Washington Po ...
to sell ''Newsweek'' to the audio pioneer Sidney Harman for one US dollar and an assumption of the magazine's liabilities. Later that year, ''Newsweek'' merged with the news and opinion website ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'', forming The Newsweek Daily Beast Company, later called ''NewsBeast''. ''Newsweek'' was jointly owned by the estate of Harman and the company IAC. ''Newsweek'' continued to experience financial difficulties, leading to the suspension of print publication at the end of 2012. In 2013,
IBT Media IBT Media is an American global digital news organization with over 90 million monthly readers, owned by followers of religious leader David Jang. It publishes the ''International Business Times'' and ''Medical Daily'', among others. IBT Media ...
acquired ''Newsweek'' from IAC; the acquisition included the ''Newsweek'' brand and its online publication, but did not include ''The Daily Beast''. IBT Media, which also owns the ''
International Business Times The ''International Business Times'' is an American online newspaper that publishes five national editions in four languages. The publication, sometimes called ''IBTimes'' or ''IBT'', offers news, opinion and editorial commentary on business and ...
'', rebranded itself as Newsweek Media Group and in 2014 relaunched ''Newsweek'' in both print and digital form. In 2018, IBT Media split into two companies: Newsweek Publishing and IBT Media. The split was accomplished one day before the
district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
of Manhattan indicted Etienne Uzac, the co-owner of IBT Media, on fraud charges. Under ''Newsweek''s current co-owner and CEO, Dev Pragad, ''Newsweek'' has been growing 20–30% per year; according to
Comscore Comscore, Inc. is an American-based global media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, advertising agencies, brand marketers, and publishers. History Comscore was founded in July 1999 in Resto ...
, its monthly unique visitors rose from about 30 million to 48 million between May 2019 and May 2022. Since Pragad became CEO in 2016, readership has grown to 100 million readers per month. The net worth of Newsweek Publishing under Dev Pragad exceeds $300 million. This is the highest number of readers and net worth in its 90-year history. The
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
published a case study of the company in 2021.


History


Founding and early years (1933–1961)

''News-Week'' was launched in 1933 by Thomas J. C. Martyn, a former foreign news editor for ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''. He obtained financial backing from a group of U.S. stockholders "which included Ward Cheney, of the Cheney silk family,
John Hay Whitney John Hay Whitney (August 17, 1904 – February 8, 1982) was an American venture capitalist, sportsman, philanthropist, newspaper publisher, film producer and diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the '' New ...
, and
Paul Mellon Paul Mellon (June 11, 1907 – February 2, 1999) was an American philanthropist and a horse breeding, breeder of thoroughbred horse racing, racehorses. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Muse ...
, son of Andrew W. Mellon". Paul Mellon's ownership in ''News-Week'' marked "the first attempt of the Mellon family to function journalistically on a national scale". The group of original owners invested around million (equivalent to $million in ). Other large stockholders prior to 1946 were public utilities investment banker Stanley Childs and Wall Street corporate lawyer Wilton Lloyd-Smith. Journalist Samuel T. Williamson served as the first editor-in-chief of ''News-Week''. The first issue of the magazine was dated February 17, 1933. Seven
photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitivity, photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. Th ...
s from the week's news were printed on the first issue's cover. In 1937, ''News-Week'' merged with the weekly journal ''Today'', which had been founded in 1932 by future New York Governor and diplomat
W. Averell Harriman William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986) was an American politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was a founder of Harriman & Co. which merged with the older Brown Brothers to form the Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. investment ...
and
Vincent Astor William Vincent Astor (November 15, 1891 – February 3, 1959) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and member of the prominent Astor family. Early life Called Vincent, he was born in New York City on November 15, 1891. Astor was the eld ...
of the prominent
Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business sector, business, Socialite, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With Germans, German roots, some of their ancestry goes back to th ...
. As a result of the deal, Harriman and Astor provided $600,000 () in venture capital funds, and Vincent Astor became both the chairman of the board and its principal stockholder between 1937 and his death in 1959. In 1937, Malcolm Muir took over as president and editor-in-chief. He changed the name of the magazine to ''Newsweek'', emphasized interpretive stories, introduced signed columns, and launched international editions.


Under ''Post'' ownership (1961–2010)

The magazine was purchased by
The Washington Post Company Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company) is a diversified American conglomerate holding company. Headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, and incorporated in Delaware, it was formerly the owner of ''The Washington Po ...
in 1961.
Osborn Elliott Osborn Elliott (October 25, 1924 – September 28, 2008) was the editor of ''Newsweek'' magazine for sixteen years between 1961 and 1976. Elliott is credited with transforming ''Newsweek'' from a staid publication into a modern rival of ''Time' ...
was named editor of ''Newsweek'' in 1961 and became the editor-in-chief in 1969. In 1970,
Eleanor Holmes Norton Eleanor Holmes Norton (born June 13, 1937) is an American politician, lawyer, and human rights activist. Norton is a congressional delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she has represented the District of Columbia since 1991 as ...
represented sixty female employees of ''Newsweek'' who had filed a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that ''Newsweek'' had a policy of allowing only men to be reporters. The women won the suit with the support of the
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...
(ACLU) and ''Newsweek'' agreed to allow women to be reporters. The day the claim was filed, ''Newsweek'' cover article was " Women in Revolt", covering the feminist movement; the article was written by a woman who had been hired on a freelance basis since there were no female reporters at the magazine.
Edward Kosner Edward Kosner (born 1937) is an American journalist and author who served as the top editor of ''Newsweek'', '' New York'' and ''Esquire'' magazines and the ''New York Daily News''. He is the author of a memoir, ''It's News to Me,'' published ...
became editor from 1975 to 1979 after directing the magazine's extensive coverage of the
Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...
that led to the resignation of President
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
in 1974. Richard M. Smith became chairman in 1998. Also in 1998, the magazine inaugurated its "Best High Schools in America" list, a ranking of public
secondary schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
based on the
Challenge Index The Challenge Index is a method for the statistical ranking of top public and private high schools in the United States, created by ''The Washington Post'' columnist Jay Mathews. It is also the only statistical ranking system for both public and ...
, which measures the ratio of
Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...
or
International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...
exams taken by students to the number of graduating students that year, regardless of the scores earned by students or the difficulty in graduating. Schools with average
SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...
scores above 1300 or average ACT scores above 27 are excluded from the list; these are categorized instead as "Public Elite" high schools. In 2008, there were 17 Public Elites. Smith resigned as board chairman in December 2007.


Restructuring and new owner (2008–2010)

During 2008–2009, ''Newsweek'' undertook a dramatic business restructuring. Citing difficulties in competing with online news sources to provide unique news in a weekly publication, the magazine refocused its content on opinion and commentary beginning with its issue from May 24, 2009. Its subscriber base shrank from 3.1million to 2.6million in early 2008, to 1.9million in July 2009, and then to 1.5million in January 2010a decline of 50% in one year.
Jon Meacham Jon Ellis Meacham (; born May 20, 1969) is an American writer, reviewer, historian and presidential biographer who is serving as the Canon Historian of the Washington National Cathedral since November 7, 2021. A former executive editor and execut ...
, editor-in-chief from 2006 to 2010, described his strategy as "counterintuitive" as it involved discouraging subscription renewals and nearly doubling subscription prices as it sought a more affluent subscriber base for its advertisers. During this period, the magazine also laid off staff. While advertising revenues were down almost 50% compared to the prior year, expenses were also diminished, whereby the publishers hoped ''Newsweek'' would return to profitability. The financial results for 2009 as reported by
The Washington Post Company Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company) is a diversified American conglomerate holding company. Headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, and incorporated in Delaware, it was formerly the owner of ''The Washington Po ...
showed that advertising revenue for ''Newsweek'' was down 37% in 2009 and the magazine division reported an operating loss for 2009 of million (equivalent to $ million in ) compared to a loss of million in 2008 (equivalent to $ million in ). During the first quarter of 2010, the magazine lost nearly million (equivalent to $ million in ). By May 2010, ''Newsweek'' had been losing money for the past two years and was put up for sale. The sale attracted international bidders. One bidder was Syrian entrepreneur Abdul Salam Haykal, CEO of Syrian publishing company Haykal Media, who brought together a coalition of Middle Eastern investors with his company. Haykal later claimed his bid was ignored by ''Newsweek'' bankers, Allen & Co. The magazine was sold to audio pioneer Sidney Harman on August 2, 2010, for in exchange for assuming the magazine's financial liabilities. Harman's bid was accepted over three competitors. Jon Meacham left the magazine upon completion of the sale. Sidney Harman was the husband of
Jane Harman Jane Margaret Harman (née Lakes, June 28, 1945) is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1993 to 1999 and again from 2001 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the ranking member on the ...
, at that time a member of Congress from California.


Merger with ''The Daily Beast'' (2010–2013)

At the end of 2010, ''Newsweek'' merged with the online publication ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'', following extensive negotiations between the respective proprietors.
Tina Brown Christina Hambley Brown, Lady Evans (born in England on 21 November 1953), is a journalist, magazine editor, columnist, broadcaster, and author, with dual British/United States citizenship. She is the former editor in chief of '' Tatler'' (197 ...
, ''The Daily Beast'' editor-in-chief, became editor of both publications. The new entity, The Newsweek Daily Beast Company, was 50% owned by
IAC/InterActiveCorp IAC Inc. is an American holding company that owns brands across 100 countries, mostly in media and Internet. The company originated in 1996 as HSN Inc. as the holding company of Home Shopping Network and USA Network before changing its name to ...
and 50% by Harman.


Redesign (2011)

''Newsweek'' was redesigned in March 2011. The new ''Newsweek'' moved the "Perspectives" section to the front of the magazine, where it served as a summary of the past week's news reported on by ''The Daily Beast''. More room was made available in the front of the magazine for columnists, editors, and special guests. A new "News Gallery" section featured two-page spreads of photographs from the week with a brief article accompanying each one. The "NewsBeast" section featured short articles, a brief interview with a newsmaker, and several graphs and charts for quick reading in the style of ''The Daily Beast''. This is where the ''Newsweek'' staple "Conventional Wisdom" was located. Brown retained ''Newsweek'' focus on in-depth, analytical features and original reporting on politics and world affairs, as well as a new focus on longer fashion and pop culture features. A larger culture section named "Omnivore" featured art, music, books, film, theater, food, travel, and television, including a weekly "Books" and "Want" section. The back page was reserved for a "My Favorite Mistake" column written by celebrity guest columnists about a mistake they made that helped shape who they are.


Cessation of print format (2012)

On July 25, 2012, the company operating ''Newsweek'' indicated the publication was likely to go digital to cover its losses and could undergo other changes by the next year.
Barry Diller Barry Charles Diller (born February 2, 1942) is an American billionaire businessman. He is chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia Group and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company with Rupert Murdoch and USA Broadcasting. Diller was ind ...
, chairman of the conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp, said his firm was looking at options since its partner in the ''Newsweek''/''Daily Beast'' operation had pulled out. At the end of 2012, the company discontinued the American print edition after 80 years of publication, citing the increasing difficulty of maintaining a paper weekly magazine in the face of declining advertising and subscription revenues and increasing costs for print production and distribution. The online edition was renamed ''Newsweek Global''.


Spin-off to IBT Media, return to print (2013–2018)

In April 2013, IAC chairman and founder
Barry Diller Barry Charles Diller (born February 2, 1942) is an American billionaire businessman. He is chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia Group and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company with Rupert Murdoch and USA Broadcasting. Diller was ind ...
said at the Milken Global Conference that he "wished he hadn't bought" ''Newsweek'' because his company had lost money on the magazine and called the purchase a "mistake" and a " fool's errand". On August 3, 2013,
IBT Media IBT Media is an American global digital news organization with over 90 million monthly readers, owned by followers of religious leader David Jang. It publishes the ''International Business Times'' and ''Medical Daily'', among others. IBT Media ...
acquired ''Newsweek'' from IAC on terms that were not disclosed; the acquisition included the ''Newsweek'' brand and its online publication but did not include ''The Daily Beast''. On March 7, 2014, IBT Media relaunched a print edition of ''Newsweek'' with a cover story on the alleged creator of
Bitcoin Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; Currency symbol, sign: ₿) is the first Decentralized application, decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under ...
that was criticized for lacking substantive evidence. The magazine stood by its story. IBT Media announced that the publication returned to profitability on October 8, 2014. In February 2017, IBT Media appointed Matt McAllester, then editor of ''Newsweek International'', as global editor-in-chief of ''Newsweek''. In January 2018, ''Newsweek'' offices were raided by the
Manhattan District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County, New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws (federal la ...
's office as part of an investigation into co-owner and founder, Etienne Uzac. ''
Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its original purpose was "to assess the performance ...
'' noted the probe "focused on loans the company took out to purchase the computer equipment", and several ''Newsweek'' reporters were fired after reporting on the issue. Uzac pleaded guilty to fraud and
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
in 2020.


Newsweek Publishing LLC (2018–present)

In September 2018, after completing the strategic structural changes introduced in March of the same year, IBT Media spun off ''Newsweek'' into its own entity, Newsweek Publishing LLC, with co-ownership to Dev Pragad and Johnathan Davis of IBT Media. In 2020, ''Newsweeks website hit 100 million unique monthly readers, up from seven million at the start of 2017. In 2021, its revenues doubled to $75 million and traffic increased to 48 million monthly unique visitors in May 2022 from about 30 million in May 2019 according to Comscore. The "rebirth" of ''Newsweek'' was the subject of a study by
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
. In September 2023, ''Newsweek'' announced it would be making use of
generative AI Generative artificial intelligence (Generative AI, GenAI, or GAI) is a subfield of artificial intelligence that uses generative models to produce text, images, videos, or other forms of data. These models learn the underlying patterns and str ...
in its operations. Its AI policy states that generative AI can be used in "writing, research, editing, and other core journalism functions" as long as journalists are involved throughout the process. In 2024, it rolled out an AI video production tool and started hiring an AI-focused
breaking news Breaking news, also called late-breaking news, a special report, special coverage, or a news flash, is a current issue that warrants the interruption of a scheduled broadcast in order to report its details. News broadcasters also use the term ...
team. In 2024, ''Newsweek'' reported $90 million in revenue and a 20% profit margin, marking a significant commercial turnaround under CEO and co-owner Dev Pragad. Revenue more than quadrupled from $20 million that year, when the company operated at a 10% loss. Profitability has been consistent since 2019 on an
EBITDA A company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (commonly abbreviated EBITDA, pronounced ) is a measure of a company's profitability of the operating business only, thus before any effects of indebtedness, state-mandat ...
basis, with margins exceeding 20% since 2022. The company credits its success to a robust digital advertising business, which accounted for 63% of revenue in 2024 (80% of which came from programmatic channels and 20% from direct sales). Pragad attributes growth to a data-driven editorial strategy focused on audience preferences, in contrast to declining readership trends across much of the news industry. In 2025, ''Newsweek'' reported that, according to Comscore, its U.S. readership increased by 45 percent compared to the previous year. The publication was ranked No. 2 in overall growth in the U.S. by Similarweb’s annual Digital 100 Report for 2024. To further diversify revenue, ''Newsweek'' has expanded into business-to-business advertising and launched an events division in 2023. It has also built a rankings division, its fastest-growing segment in the past two years, which is monetized through
brand licensing Brand licensing means renting or leasing of an intangible asset. It is a process of creating and managing contracts between the owner of a brand and a company or individual who wants to use the brand in association with a product, for an agreed ...
and which contributed 13% of total revenue in 2024. Content syndication added another 16%. In June 2025, ''Newsweek'' acquired Adprime, an adtech firm specializing in healthcare marketing, as part of its expansion into the health sector. The acquisition included a demand-side platform and data services intended to support targeted advertising across ''Newsweek'''s healthcare content. The move contrasted with broader industry trends of divestment from adtech and aligned with ''Newsweek'''s strategy to increase business-to-business revenue through its health vertical.


Circulation and branches

In 2003, worldwide circulation was more than 4 million, including 2.7 million in the U.S; by 2010 it reduced to 1.5 million (with newsstand sales declining to just over 40,000 copies per week). ''Newsweek'' publishes editions in
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...
, Polish,
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
,
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
,
Rioplatense Spanish Rioplatense Spanish ( , ), also known as Rioplatense Castilian, or River Plate Spanish, is a variety of SpanishAlvar, Manuel, "''Manual de dialectología hispánica. El español de América''", ("Handbook of Hispanic Dialectology. Spanish Lan ...
,
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
, Turkish, Serbian, as well as an
English-language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
''Newsweek International''. ''Russian Newsweek'', published since 2004, was shuttered in October 2010. '' The Bulletin'' (an Australian weekly until 2008) incorporated an international news section from ''Newsweek''. Based in New York City, the magazine claimed 22 bureaus in 2011: nine in the U.S.:
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
/
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
,
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
,
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
,
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
,
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
and
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, and others overseas in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
,
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
,
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
,
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
,
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
,
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
,
South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
,
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
,
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
and
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
. According to a 2015 column in the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'', after returning to print publication, ''Newsweek'' was selling c. 100,000 copies per month, with staff at that time numbering "about 60 editorial staffers", up from a low of "less than 30 editorial staffers" in 2013, but with plans then to grow the number to "close to 100 in the next year".


Controversies


Allegations of sexism

In 1970,
Eleanor Holmes Norton Eleanor Holmes Norton (born June 13, 1937) is an American politician, lawyer, and human rights activist. Norton is a congressional delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she has represented the District of Columbia since 1991 as ...
represented sixty female employees of ''Newsweek'' who had filed a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that ''Newsweek'' had a policy of allowing only men to be reporters. The women won, and ''Newsweek'' agreed to allow women to be reporters. The day the claim was filed, ''Newsweek'' cover article was "Women in Revolt", covering the feminist movement. The article was written by freelancer Helen Dudar in the belief that there were no female writers at the magazine capable of handling the assignment. Those passed over included Elizabeth Peer, who had spent five years in Paris as a foreign correspondent. On June 2, 1986, ''Newsweek'' published a cover story titled "The Marriage Crunch", which claimed that "women who weren't married by 40 had a better chance of being killed by a terrorist than of finding a husband". ''Newsweek'' eventually apologized for the story and in 2010 launched a study that discovered two in three women who were 40 and single in 1986 had married since. The story caused a "wave of anxiety" and some "skepticism" amongst professional and highly educated women in the United States. The article was cited several times in the 1993 film ''
Sleepless in Seattle ''Sleepless in Seattle'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy film directed by Nora Ephron, from a screenplay she wrote with David S. Ward and Jeff Arch. Starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, the film follows a journalist (Ryan) who becomes enamored ...
'', starring
Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
and
Meg Ryan Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra (born November 19, 1961), known by her stage name Meg Ryan, is an American actress. Known for her leading roles as quirky, charismatic women since the late 1980s, Ryan is particularly recognized for her work in ...
. Comparisons have been made with this article and the current rising issues surrounding the social stigma of unwed women in Asia called ''
sheng nu Sheng may refer to: Chinese culture * Sheng (instrument) (笙), a Chinese wind instrument * Sheng (surname) (盛), a Chinese surname * Sheng (Chinese opera), a major role in Chinese opera * Sheng (volume) (升), ancient Chinese units of measureme ...
''. On November 23, 2009, former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee
Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomi ...
was featured on the cover of ''Newsweek'', with the caption "How do you solve a problem Like Sarah?", and an image of Palin posing in athletic attire. Palin herself and other commentators accused ''Newsweek'' of
sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...
for their choice of cover for the issue, which discussed Palin's book, '' Going Rogue: An American Life''. "It's sexist as hell," wrote Lisa Richardson for the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
''. Taylor Marsh of ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
'' called it "the worst case of pictorial sexism aimed at political character assassination ever done by a traditional media outlet". David Brody of CBN News stated, "This cover should be insulting to women politicians." The cover includes a photo of Palin used in the August 2009 issue of ''
Runner's World ''Runner's World'' is a global magazine and website for runners of all abilities. It has additionally developed experiential formats, including a digital membership program, called Runner's World+. It is published by Hearst in Easton, Pennsylva ...
''. The photographer may have breached his contract with ''Runner's World'' when he permitted its use in ''Newsweek'', as ''Runner's World'' maintained certain rights to the photo until August 2010. It is uncertain, however, whether this particular use of the photo was prohibited. In August 2011, Minnesota Republican Congresswoman and presidential candidate
Michele Bachmann Michele Marie Bachmann (; née Amble; born April 6, 1956) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2007 until 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican P ...
was featured on the cover of ''Newsweek'', with the caption "the Queen of Rage". The photo of her was perceived as unflattering, as it portrayed her with a wide-eyed expression that some said made her look "crazy". Conservative commentator
Michelle Malkin Michelle Malkin (; Maglalang; born October 20, 1970) is an American conservative political commentator. She was a Fox News contributor and in May 2020 joined Newsmax TV. Malkin has written seven books and founded the conservative commentary ...
called the depiction "sexist", and Sarah Palin denounced the publication. ''Newsweek'' defended the cover's depiction of Bachmann, saying its other photos of her showed similar intensity. In June 2024, ''Newsweek'' published an opinion piece with the title "Taylor Swift Is Not a Good Role Model", which claimed that American singer-songwriter
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
was a bad role model for young girls due to being unmarried, childless and having been in multiple relationships. The article was condemned as sexist, including by tennis player
Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova (, ; ; born October18, 1956) is a Czech-American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, singles for 332 weeks (List of WTA number ...
.


Factual errors

Unlike most large American magazines, ''Newsweek'' has not used fact-checkers since 1996. In 1997, the magazine was forced to recall several hundred thousand copies of a special issue called ''Your Child'', which advised that infants as young as five months old could safely feed themselves
zwieback Zwieback () is a form of rusk eaten in Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Scandinavia, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland and Turkey. It is a ...
toasts and chunks of raw carrot (to the contrary, both represent a choking hazard in children this young). The error was later attributed to a copy editor who was working on two stories at the same time. In 2017, ''Newsweek'' published a story claiming that the First Lady of Poland refused to shake U.S. President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's hand; fact-checking website ''
Snopes ''Snopes'' (), formerly known as the ''Urban Legends Reference Pages'', is a fact-checking website. It has been described as a "well-regarded reference for sorting out myths and rumors" on the Internet. The site has also been seen as a source ...
'' described the assertion as "false". ''Newsweek'' corrected its story. In 2018, ''Newsweek'' ran a story alleging that then-President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
had colored the American flag incorrectly while visiting a classroom; ''Snopes'' was unable to corroborate the photographic evidence. In August 2018, ''Newsweek'' incorrectly reported that the
Sweden Democrats The Sweden Democrats ( , SD ) is a Nationalism, nationalist and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Sweden founded in 1988. As of 2024, it is the largest member of Sweden's Right-wing politics, right-wing bloc and the sec ...
, a far-right party, could win a majority in the 2018 Swedish parliamentary elections. Polls showed that the party was far away from winning a majority. By September 2018, ''Newsweek'' article was still up. In November 2022, during the Mahsa Amini protests in Iran, ''Newsweek'' incorrectly reported that Iran had ordered the execution of over 15,000 protesters. The claim was widely shared on social media, including by actresses Trudie Styler, Sophie Turner and Viola Davis, and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau. The number was actually derived from estimates from a United Nations United Nations Human Rights Council, human rights rapporteur and other human rights Human rights organizations, organizations of how many people were detained in Iran in connection with the protests, and ''Newsweek'' later retracted the underlying claim leading to the inference that the people faced a death sentence. In October 2023, ''Newsweek'' incorrectly reported that a viral video of U.S. senator Tommy Tuberville falling down a flight of stairs while exiting an airplane had been recorded that month. The reporting by ''Newsweek'' drew comparisons to Tuberville's criticism of then-President Joe Biden similarly tripping on stairways. In reality, the video highlighted by ''Newsweek'' was filmed in 2014, nine years prior, before Tuberville's tenure as senator.


2018 investigation and firings

On January 18, 2018, the
Manhattan District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County, New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws (federal la ...
's office raided ''Newsweek'''s headquarters in Lower Manhattan and seized 18 computer servers as part of an investigation related to the company's finances. IBT, then the owner of ''Newsweek'', had been under scrutiny for its ties to David Jang, a South Korean pastor and the leader of a Christian sect called "the Community". In February 2018, several ''Newsweek'' staff were fired, and some resigned stating that management had tried to interfere in articles about the investigations.


Other

On November 29, 2001, Fareed Zakaria, a ''Newsweek'' columnist and editor of ''Newsweek International'', attended a secret meeting with a dozen policy makers, Middle East experts and members of influential policy research organizations that produced a report for then-President George W. Bush and his cabinet outlining a strategy for dealing with Afghanistan and the Middle East in the aftermath of September 11 attacks, September 11, 2001. The meeting was held at the request of Paul Wolfowitz, Paul D. Wolfowitz, then the Deputy Secretary of Defense. The unusual presence of journalists, who also included Robert D. Kaplan of ''The Atlantic Monthly'', at such a strategy meeting was revealed in Bob Woodward's 2006 book ''State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III''. Woodward reported in his book that, according to Kaplan, everyone at the meeting signed confidentiality agreements not to discuss what happened. Zakaria told ''The New York Times'' that he attended the meeting for several hours but did not recall being told that a report for the president would be produced.Julie Bosman
"Secret Iraq Meeting Included Journalists"
. ''The New York Times''. October 9, 2006.
On October 21, 2006, after verification, the ''Times'' published a correction that stated:
An article in Business Day on October 9 about journalists who attended a secret meeting in November 2001 called by Paul D. Wolfowitz, then Deputy Secretary of Defense, incorrectly referenced Fareed Zakaria, editor of ''Newsweek International'' and a ''Newsweek'' columnist, regarding his participation. Mr. Zakaria was not told that the meeting would produce a report for the Bush administration, nor did his name appear on the report.
The cover story from January 15, 2015, titled "What Silicon Valley Thinks of Women", caused controversy, due to both its illustration, described as "the cartoon of a faceless female in spiky red heels, having her dress lifted up by a Cursor (computing), cursor arrow," and its content, described as "a 5,000-word article on the creepy, sexist culture of the tech industry." Among those offended by the cover were ''Today (U.S. TV program), Today'' co-host Tamron Hall, who commented, "I think it's obscene and just despicable, honestly." ''Newsweek'' editor-in-chief James Impoco explained, "We came up with an image that we felt represented what that story said about Silicon Valley ... If people get angry, they should be angry." The article's author, Nina Burleigh, asked, "Where were all these offended people when women like Heidi Roizen published accounts of having a venture capitalist stick her hand in his pants under a table while a deal was being discussed?" In January 1998, ''Newsweek'' reporter Michael Isikoff was the first reporter to investigate allegations of a sexual relationship between then-U.S. President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, but the editors Spike (journalism), spiked the story. The story soon surfaced online in the Drudge Report. In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, the John McCain campaign wrote a lengthy letter to the editor criticizing a cover story in May 2008. ''Newsweek'' journalists have expressed criticism of the editorial quality of its reporting since its change in ownership in 2013. In 2018, former ''Newsweek'' journalist Jonathan Alter wrote in ''The Atlantic'' that since being sold to the ''International Business Times'' in 2013 the magazine had "produced some strong journalism and plenty of clickbait before becoming a painful embarrassment to anyone who toiled there in its golden age". Former ''Newsweek'' writer Matthew Cooper criticized ''Newsweek'' for running multiple inaccurate stories in 2018. In December 2019, journalist Tareq Haddad said he resigned from ''Newsweek'' when it refused to publish his story about documents published by WikiLeaks concerning the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons' report into the 2018 Douma chemical attack. Haddad said his information was inconvenient to the U.S. government which had retaliated after the chemical attack. A ''Newsweek'' spokesperson responded that Haddad "pitched a conspiracy theory rather than an idea for objective reporting. ''Newsweek'' editors rejected the pitch." In August 2020, Chapman University professor John C. Eastman wrote a ''Newsweek'' op-ed asking if Kamala Harris, Kamala Harris's parents were U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents at the time of her birth or if they were temporary visitors. He then stated that if they were temporary visitors, then "under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, 14th Amendment as originally understood", she would not be considered a U.S. citizen and Natural-born-citizen clause (United States), would not be eligible for her then-current position in the Senate. The op-ed resulted in the spread of 'birther-ism' conspiracy theories surrounding Kamala Harris. ''Newsweek'' later apologized for the op-ed, saying they had "entirely failed to anticipate the ways in which the essay would be interpreted, distorted and weaponized" and that their publication of it "was intended to explore a minority legal argument about the definition of who is a 'natural-born citizen' in the United States." In December 2021, comedian Jon Stewart criticized Newsweek, declaring in a podcast titled "Clickbait is Arson," that its "business model is ... arson", after the magazine reported that he accused Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling of antisemitism. In September 2022, ''Recorder'' published an investigation on press financing in Romania by the political parties in government. In the investigation, it accused ''Newsweek Romania'' of being paid €8,000 per month (€3,000 by Payment Services directive (PSD) and €5,000 by PNL) to publish positive articles about the government. After the publication of the investigation, ''Newsweek Romania'' published an investigation about ''Recorder''s owner who is the son of a former communist ambassador and also a nephew of a former KGB general. In response, ''Recorders journalists accused ''Newsweek Romania'' of denigrating them. In November 2022, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that ''Newsweek'' had "taken a marked Radical right (United States), radical right turn by buoying extremists and promoting authoritarian leaders" since it hired conservative political activist Josh B. Hammer, Josh Hammer as editor-at-large. It noted the magazine's elevation of conspiracy theorists, publication of conspiracy theories about COVID-19, views such as support for a ban on all legal immigration to the United States and denying adults access to Transgender health care, trans-affirming medical care, and failure to disclose potential Conflict of interest, conflicts of interest in the content published on Hammer's opinion section and podcast.


Contributors and staff members

Notable contributors or employees have included: * Shana Alexander * Jonathan Alter * David Ansen * Pete Axthelm * Maziar Bahari * Paul Begala * Arnold Beichman * Peter Beinart * Peter Benchley * Lester Bernstein * Ben Bradlee * Dik Browne * William Broyles Jr. * Hal Bruno * Arnaud de Borchgrave * Eleanor Clift * Nancy Cooper * Kenneth G. Crawford * Bill Downs * Joshua DuBois * Kurt Eichenwald *
Osborn Elliott Osborn Elliott (October 25, 1924 – September 28, 2008) was the editor of ''Newsweek'' magazine for sixteen years between 1961 and 1976. Elliott is credited with transforming ''Newsweek'' from a staid publication into a modern rival of ''Time' ...
* Niall Ferguson * Howard Fineman * Nikki Finke * Karl Fleming * Lawrence Fried * Milton Friedman * David Frum * Freeman Fulbright * Robin Givhan * Michelle Goldberg * Meg Greenfield * Josh B. Hammer, Josh Hammer * Henry Hazlitt * Wilder Hobson * Robert Cunningham Humphreys * Michael Isikoff * Roger Kahn * Jack Kroll * Howard Kurtz * Eli Lake * John Lake (journalist), John Lake * Charles Lane (journalist), Charles Lane * John Lardner (sports writer), John Lardner * Robert K. Massie *
Jon Meacham Jon Ellis Meacham (; born May 20, 1969) is an American writer, reviewer, historian and presidential biographer who is serving as the Canon Historian of the Washington National Cathedral since November 7, 2021. A former executive editor and execut ...
* Elizabeth Peer * Jack Posobiec * Lynn Povich * Dev Pragad * Anna Quindlen * Karl Rove * Paul Samuelson * Dick Schaap * Allan Sloan * Andrew Sullivan * Ralph de Toledano * Michael Tomasky * Peter Turnley * Batya Ungar-Sargon * Margaret Warner * Mark Whitaker (CNN), Mark Whitaker * Arick Wierson * George Will * Elijah Wolfson * Fareed Zakaria Those who held the positions of president, chairman, or publisher under The Washington Post Company ownership include: * Gibson McCabe * Robert D. Campbell * Peter A. Derow * David Auchincloss * Alan Spoon, Alan G. Spoon *Richard Mills Smith


Publications

Newsweek publishes World's Best Hospitals annually, a ranking of the best hospitals in 20 countries based on the opinions of medical professionals, patient survey results and key medical performance indicators. The countries monitored are the United States, Canada, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Israel, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, India, Thailand, Australia, Argentina, and Brazil.


See also

* List of magazines by circulation * ''Newsweek Argentina'' * ''Newsweek Pakistan'' * Newsweek gay actor controversy, ''Newsweek'' gay actor controversy * ''Russky Newsweek''


References


External links

*
''Newsweek'' history
at MagsDirect
''Newsweek'' 1933–2012
at ProQuest
''Newsweek'' 1933–2015
at the Internet Archive
''Newsweek'' 1933–1951
at The Online Books Page
''Newsweek'' Atlanta Bureau records
at Emory University Libraries {{Authority control __FORCETOC__ Newsweek, 1933 establishments in New York (state) Magazines established in 1933 News magazines published in the United States Weekly magazines published in the United States Magazines published in New York City Independent magazines IBT Media 1961 mergers and acquisitions 2010 mergers and acquisitions 2013 mergers and acquisitions Weekly news magazines Publications established in 1933 Multilingual magazines