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< BACK TO Fresh Intelligence Over 100 Staffers Leave Newsweek
MAGAZINES, HOWEVER... Newsweek 146 staffers were offered the chance to leave the magazine, with as much as two years of their current salary as a departing bonus, depending on their age and length of service. The package also includes pension sweetners and the chance to continue health insurance coverage until the age of 65. More staffers than expected accepted the offer, so at least some their jobs are likely to be filled by new hires. But dozens of positions will be eliminated permanently. The departure of so many senior staffers at once—all of them are expected to be gone by the end of this year—will mean the loss of much of the magazine's institutional memory, as well as many of its most talented writers and editors. All of the chief researchers are also leaving, including Nancy Stadtman, Ray Sawhill and Ray Anello, and their positions may be eliminated. Other longtime senior editors who accepted the buyout include Nancy Cooper, George Hackett and Alexis Gelber. Senior Editor Jerry Adler is reportedly still considering the offer. Top political writers Jonathan Alter and Howard Fineman were also offered the buyout but declined it, and will continue in their current positions. Fineman told Radar, "my sense was that they wanted me to stay, and I am delighted to be doing so... I'm a lucky—and happy—guy." Alter said, "Because I've turned 50 I was just barely eligible under the terms, but I'm not taking it." Most foreign and national correspondents were excluded from the offer. Longtime Washington powerhouse Evan Thomas will also continue there. Key people leaving on the business side include Ray Pavlik, the go-to-man for many years in human resources, and Rebecca Pratt, a top technology expert. This is the latest reverberation from the continuing decline in revenues and circulation of major print publications around the world—most of it attributable to the impact of the Internet. Newsweek is the third major news organization to offer buyouts to scores of staffers this year, following the lead of The New York Times, and Newsweek's sister publication, The Washington Post. This is the second major buyout at Newsweek in six years. The first one claimed senior staffers like Lucy Howard, art critic Peter Plagens, long time religion editor Ken Woodward, Jean Seligman, Joan Engels, and David Alpern. Plagens still writes occasionally for the magazine as a contributing editor, and David Ansen (the magazine's senior—and much-loved—movie critic since 1977) and Cathleen McGuigan may also continue to contribute after they cease to be staffers this year. READ MORE • Charles Kaiser's media coverage I guess nobody wants to buy or advertise in a left wing magazine any more. Maybe if they had a more balanced approach to reporting the news then people would think it worthwhile. The day newsweek goes under I will say goodbye and good riddance. Posted by: geo1 on March 31, 2008 8:39 AM Newsweek is hardly left wing. I suppose any outlet that doesn't trumpet right wing propaganda according to the Fox and Limbaugh theme songs is considered left wing. Advertising has little do with the quality of a publication. Often intense advertising translates into the publication becoming a corporate sellout anyway. Newspaper and magazine subscriptions are unfortunately declining across the board. Americans are increasingly ignorant, illiterate, xenophobic and misinformed because many folks rarely read anything of value. If they do read it is tabloids or rapture books. It makes it all too easy for the likes of Bush & Cheney and their ilk to run roughshod over the constitution, laws and treaties, conduct an illegal war and rob the treasury without almost no scrutiny from mainstream media. Posted by: hops9807 on March 31, 2008 10:52 AM yeah hops, that's why STOP LOSS did so well this weekend eh? you're an idiot ... and good riddance to NEWSWEEK! Posted by: SEALwife on March 31, 2008 11:19 AM They could keep half of those people with what they spend to send Weymouth to Davos.... Posted by: Gagpac on March 31, 2008 11:40 AM Advertisement Mainstream Media censors stories on behalf of the gov't. This is all about censorship (and the citizens wise response to it). After all, censorship is becoming America's favorite past-time. The US gov't (and their corporate friends), already detain protesters, ban books like "America Deceived" from Amazon and shut down Ron Paul. Free Speech forever. Posted by: Reader11722 on March 31, 2008 12:30 PM
Posted by: escoBam on March 31, 2008 12:34 PM This is NOT a right wing versus left wing debate. It is about the future of media coverage in this country. Rome is burning.....and nobody is reading anymore.. Maybe in another five years all of the screaming fringe groups will understand what they are watching..They can shout at each other on the Internet and nobody will be covering real news anymore. Very sad times... Posted by: dcjournalist1 on March 31, 2008 1:00 PM Interesting that the typical response of old media (such as Newsweek) to loss of subscribers and advertisers is to move further to the left. So we see Time getting more opinion oriented, with all of its editorials masquerading as articles moving further and further to the left. Then there is Katie Couric - CBS News' answer to its ratings debacle caused by Rathergate. What happened? Pro-Democratic leftist Couric has delivered the lowest ratings in the history of CBS News. When will these people learn? Media is all about imitation - if something does well a host of imitators crop up. Did anyone give Fox News a shot? Of course not, and it managed, with simply being objective instead of liberal pro-Democratic - to beat out CNN. But has anyone imitated Fox? The answer, of course, is no - all three major networks and all three major newsmagazines - Time, Newsweek etc. are all solidly liberal, and moving further to the left, even as they bleed ratings and subscribers. It's almost comical - the more they move to the left the worse they do! It really is incomprehensible - you wonder if these people are interested in making money! Why the slode to suicide? I've wondered if there is some kind of a long term agreement between Democrats and the mainstream media under which the media is given certain benefits in return for support of Democratic causes and candidates. But that's a conspiracy theory, and unlike leftists and Democrats (same thing these days) I don't believe in such things. But you have to wonder how the people at Newsweek could be so bullheaded and stupid. By simlpy moving to the center they might be able to save their crummy magazine. But you can't teach some people - I gave up trying to tell my parents that the Democrats have changed since the 1950's but they still believe in fairy tales such as Democrats being for the little guy..... So good bye Newsweek...and good riddance. Like the dinosaur you are, you couldn't deal with the new media realities...viva the news media! Posted by: Elagabalus on March 31, 2008 2:05 PM "This is all about censorship, " Give me a break. You can't possibly be saying that 100 staffers at Newsweek are leaving because of some big conspiracy to shut down Newsweek. The simple fact is that more people are getting their news from the internet. I believe the process, which would have happened anyway, was accelerated a little bit due to the obvious bias some publications (like Newsweek) exhibit. Why pay for biased news in print form when you can get it for free over the internet. Regarding "America Deceived" It was NEVER available via Amazon or B&N. It was published via "Fast Track" at iUniverse.com (a subsidiary of B&N, btw) IT WAS NEVER BANNED FROM ANYWHERE The author choose not to have it released via B&N or Amazon per iUniverse. Political motivation or just a cheapskate? You decide. If you would like, you can call them yourself and ask. The phone number for iUniverse is 1-800-AUTHORS. No, really, call them and ask if it was ever distributed by Amazon or B&N and they will tell you it wasn't as it was a "fast Track" publication.
Posted by: loader2000 on March 31, 2008 2:11 PM This is not about right and left. It is fundamentally about accuracy and truth. The main stream media, including Newsweek, is absolutely incapable of reporting the complete fact and truth. Go back and read a newspaper from the early 1900's - you will see names, places, event, descriptions - factually reported. Today, the so-called journalists report their opinion as if fact. Note the number of headlines that end in a question mark. A fact does not end in a question mark. The current crop of news readers and reporters seem to want to inject themselves into each story. Personally I want the facts and I do not care to hear the writer's opinion. That is what the editorial pages are all about. Good riddance. PS: It just so happens that these media people are mostly liberals and leftists. Posted by: krosavcheg on March 31, 2008 2:52 PM Twist in the wind, NEWSWEAK. Hope the arrogant pinhead writing the "Conventional Wisdom" arrow chart is What I'd give to see one last, big red down arrow on that worthless feature. "Truth always wins in the end" Posted by: blackowlguitarist on March 31, 2008 3:16 PM
Posted by: escoBam on March 31, 2008 4:20 PM If you do not print ALL the news... or at least give 'both sides... If you are biased, and most ALL of the other MSN is too, this is what happens. Everybody is in the same 'bubble, talking to each other. That = NO NEWS. Same-ole'sameole' = boring = and nobody cares.... Why isn't petilunt Johnathan Alter and 'wise and knowing' Howard Weinman going, too?: Since when can you refuse a 'buyout..." or do they know where Posted by: jezzika on March 31, 2008 6:03 PM P/S... we are reading 'DRUDGE,now... we DIDN'T FIND OUT ABOUT "THE STAINED BLUE DRESS" FROM 'NEWSWEEK!!!!!! Happy retirement. love and kisses, PSS Limbaugh gives more accurate 'NEWS" on one program than the whole bunch of you libs do.... eat it. Posted by: jezzika on March 31, 2008 6:08 PM Serves Newsweek right for hiring Markos Moulitsas, the founder and publisher of of the HATE site dailykos.com. That severed all journalistic credibility in my eyes. Posted by: laurinpenn on March 31, 2008 7:38 PM |
   
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