The fate of Newsweek might be described as a "riches to rags" story, going from a multimillion-dollar business to one worth just $1 USD -- at least judging by the amount it was sold for in 2010. Founded in 1933, the news magazine never quite had the clout of Time, but in the 1990s, Newsweek boasted 3 million paid subscribers and five times that many readers. However, that circulation gradually declined to about 100,000. The decline facilitated Newsweek's 2010 sale by The Washington Post Company to audio pioneer Sidney Harmon for just $1 USD. Harmon also agreed to pick up Newsweek's reported debt of $47 million USD. Ownership of the magazine has continued to change hands since then, and in 2012, Newsweek became an online-only publication.
The future of print magazines:
- In February 2018, Newsweek experienced significant internal turmoil relating to the publication's alleged financial ties to the evangelical Christian school Olivet University, resulting in firings and resignations, with many employees now worried about the magazine's future.
- According to a 2016 survey, seventy percent of adult Americans still read print magazines regularly; only 41 percent regularly read online magazines, although that figure is on the rise.
- In an infamous 1995 article, Newsweek described the Internet as a fad, arguing that online shopping would never work and that print news publications were very safe.