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[/responsive]When Diller and co. killed off Newsweek’s print edition in 2012, it left the door open for a bargain acquisition by IBT Media and the title’s subsequent relaunch in 2014.
Media mogul Barry Diller and legendary editor Tina Brown couldn’t keep the venerable title profitable with a mass market mindset. So how has the last year been for new editor-in-chief Jim Impoco?
According to Samir “Mr. Magazine” Husni, who spoke to Impoco about the title’s rebirth, “Newsweek now sets the standard of what a weekly should be. It looks and reads like a monthly, but is published on a weekly basis.”
The turn-around is rooted in understanding the realities of publishing in this economy and connecting with core readers who are craving true journalism.
“The main difference is that we got to try a different business model with a more targeted, limited distribution. That option was not available before. We’ve discovered that Newsweek is a pretty hard brand to kill off and expect that to remain so,” Impoco told Husni.
The highlight of his year was, not surprisingly, the moment when “Expenditures [came] into alignment with spending – i.e., we became profitable and self sustaining. And we’ve produced hard-hitting long-form journalism that has moved the dial.”
Newsweek’s rebirth and success is proof that the industry giants would do well to rethink their entire business model.