The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

How to Lose $56 Million a Year

Posted on | June 29, 2010 | 15 Comments

Hire Jon Meacham as editor of your magazine:

The auction of Newsweek looks to be heading to some sort of ending.
Final bids for the troubled weekly are expected by 5 pm Thursday at investment bank Allen & Co., according to the New York Post. There are five parties in the running, including Newsmax Media, OpenGate Capital, Thane Ritchie, Sidney Harmon and Fred Drasner, the one-time partner of Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman.
Much has been made about the financial state of Newsweek, the legendary weekly that produced $56 million in operating losses in 2009 and an $11 million loss in first quarter. . . .  “The amount of money they lost is shocking,” said one buyout executive who saw the Newsweek books but passed. “It’s a classic old world publishing business that did nothing to adjust to the new world reality.”

Yeah. A one-year subscription to Newsweek is $40. You can read this blog for free, but if you want a “Certified Tip Jar Hitter” mug, I think we’d consider $40 in the tip jar as an acceptable mimimum, although $56 million would be OK, too.

(Hat-tip: Ben Domenech.)

Category: Media Bias, Neutral Objective Journalism, Shoe Leather Fund

Comments

15 Responses to “How to Lose $56 Million a Year”

  1. molonlabe28
    June 29th, 2010 @ 4:24 pm

    The editorial staff at Newsweek is a swamp that needs to be drained.

    I would start by showing Evan Thomas and Paul Fineman the door.

    I would then give Robert Samuelson a big raise and the executive office, because he is a diamond in the rough.

    It will be interesting to see who wins the auction and how much the buyer pays.

  2. molonlabe28
    June 29th, 2010 @ 12:24 pm

    The editorial staff at Newsweek is a swamp that needs to be drained.

    I would start by showing Evan Thomas and Paul Fineman the door.

    I would then give Robert Samuelson a big raise and the executive office, because he is a diamond in the rough.

    It will be interesting to see who wins the auction and how much the buyer pays.

  3. Dave C
    June 29th, 2010 @ 4:53 pm

    How much do you want to bet that Jon Meacham will find another job within the matter of two weeks after it sells.

  4. Dave C
    June 29th, 2010 @ 12:53 pm

    How much do you want to bet that Jon Meacham will find another job within the matter of two weeks after it sells.

  5. Estragon
    June 29th, 2010 @ 2:42 pm

    My guess is they will be forced to return Eleanor Clift to her sarcophagus in the Cairo Museum, too.

    I can’t imagine anyone with any sense paying any amount of money for this failing rag, unless it is some super-rich guy who just wants the sheer pleasure of firing Meacham.

  6. Estragon
    June 29th, 2010 @ 6:42 pm

    My guess is they will be forced to return Eleanor Clift to her sarcophagus in the Cairo Museum, too.

    I can’t imagine anyone with any sense paying any amount of money for this failing rag, unless it is some super-rich guy who just wants the sheer pleasure of firing Meacham.

  7. Andrew Sullivan
    June 29th, 2010 @ 7:53 pm

    a href=”http://trueslant.com/conorfriedersdorf/2010/06/28/on-andrew-sullivan-jonathan-bernstein-and-trig-palin/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+trueslant%2Fconorfriedersdorf+%28Metablog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader”>Connor asks “Why Does Trig Matter.”

    Well, I certainly hope I won’t abandon vigilance on other issues for this farce. But two responses: first, it is not my concern whether this helps or hinders Palin. I want to know what’s true, that’s all. And while I’m perfectly aware of the rope-a-dope potential, and have been from the beginning, everything I know about Palin suggests that this is a secondary strategy. And when someone with that much power brazenly dares the media, the media needs to dare back. Otherwise, they win. And they have won, hence all the copy-cats.

    Secondly, this lie, while certainly not as offensive or grave as “we do not torture”, could amount to a woman stuffing her dress to fake pregnancy. There’s a clarity about that kind of lie that strikes me as truly gob-smacking. Before I knew much about Palin, it struck me as extremely unlikely. But would you put anything past her, now you’ve watched her for a couple of years?

    By the way, the only reputation I care about is between me and my conscience and my readers. Apart from that, I couldn’t give a toss what others say. But if they have an argument or some evidence, I’d love to clear this up and move on.

    And of course, beating an insane theory like this to death for years only helps gin up some blog traffic for me. So that works too. Newsweek’s problem is it did not know how to make media lies pay.

    And I know that little whelp Trig stole a loaf of bread. And he will pay for that crime. On this, I pledge!

  8. Andrew Sullivan
    June 29th, 2010 @ 3:53 pm

    a href=”http://trueslant.com/conorfriedersdorf/2010/06/28/on-andrew-sullivan-jonathan-bernstein-and-trig-palin/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+trueslant%2Fconorfriedersdorf+%28Metablog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader”>Connor asks “Why Does Trig Matter.”

    Well, I certainly hope I won’t abandon vigilance on other issues for this farce. But two responses: first, it is not my concern whether this helps or hinders Palin. I want to know what’s true, that’s all. And while I’m perfectly aware of the rope-a-dope potential, and have been from the beginning, everything I know about Palin suggests that this is a secondary strategy. And when someone with that much power brazenly dares the media, the media needs to dare back. Otherwise, they win. And they have won, hence all the copy-cats.

    Secondly, this lie, while certainly not as offensive or grave as “we do not torture”, could amount to a woman stuffing her dress to fake pregnancy. There’s a clarity about that kind of lie that strikes me as truly gob-smacking. Before I knew much about Palin, it struck me as extremely unlikely. But would you put anything past her, now you’ve watched her for a couple of years?

    By the way, the only reputation I care about is between me and my conscience and my readers. Apart from that, I couldn’t give a toss what others say. But if they have an argument or some evidence, I’d love to clear this up and move on.

    And of course, beating an insane theory like this to death for years only helps gin up some blog traffic for me. So that works too. Newsweek’s problem is it did not know how to make media lies pay.

    And I know that little whelp Trig stole a loaf of bread. And he will pay for that crime. On this, I pledge!

  9. Andrew Sullivan
    June 29th, 2010 @ 7:54 pm

    Connor asks “Why Does Trig Matter.”

    Link fixed. That Trig and Palin set me up again by messing with my tags.

  10. Andrew Sullivan
    June 29th, 2010 @ 3:54 pm

    Connor asks “Why Does Trig Matter.”

    Link fixed. That Trig and Palin set me up again by messing with my tags.

  11. Cassy Fiano
    June 29th, 2010 @ 4:57 pm

    […] The Other McCain How to lose $56 million a year […]

  12. William
    June 29th, 2010 @ 9:55 pm

    Hopefully, this will get my University to stop sending us letters of lectures we may attend to “bask in his brilliance.”

  13. William
    June 29th, 2010 @ 5:55 pm

    Hopefully, this will get my University to stop sending us letters of lectures we may attend to “bask in his brilliance.”

  14. Rob
    June 29th, 2010 @ 11:19 pm

    It’s a big if…but IF this blog is up after I make my first billion, I’ll make sure you guys get $56M. By the way, I plan on getting the first million by the time I’m 30. So…I got six years. 🙂

  15. Rob
    June 29th, 2010 @ 7:19 pm

    It’s a big if…but IF this blog is up after I make my first billion, I’ll make sure you guys get $56M. By the way, I plan on getting the first million by the time I’m 30. So…I got six years. 🙂