NewsBeast was an American

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

company, and owner of ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'' and ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

''. It was established in 2010 as a merger between the two media outlets. The company was owned by

IAC/InterActiveCorp IAC Inc. is an American holding company that owns brands across 100 countries, mostly in media and Internet. The company is incorporated under Delaware General Corporation Law and headquartered in New York City. Joey Levin, who previously led t ...

and the estate of

Sidney Harman Sidney Harman (August 4, 1918 – April 12, 2011) was a Canadian-born American engineer and businessman active in education, government, industry, and publishing. He was the Chairman Emeritus of Harman International Industries, Inc. A co-fou ...

, with Stephen Colvin of ''The Daily Beast'' as CEO. In August 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'', leaving ''The Daily Beast'' under the management of The Newsweek Daily Beast Company, which today operates as a subsidiary of IAC.

History

''Newsweek'' magazine was launched in 1933 by 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 U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the '' New York Herald Tribune'', and president of the Museum of Modern Art. He was a member of the Whitney family. Early life Whi ...

, and Paul Mellon, son of

Andrew W. Mellon Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), sometimes A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylv ...

," according to ''America's 60 Families'' by

Ferdinand Lundberg Ferdinand Lundberg (April 30, 1902 – March 1, 1995) was an American journalist and historian known for his frequent and potent criticism of American financial and political institutions. His work has been credited as an influence on Robert Caro ...

. ''The Daily Beast'' was founded in 2008 by

Tina Brown Christina Hambley Brown, Lady Evans (born 21 November 1953), is an English journalist, magazine editor, columnist, talk-show host, and author of ''The Diana Chronicles'' (2007) a biography of Diana, Princess of Wales, '' The Vanity Fair Diarie ...

, former editor of '' Vanity Fair'' and ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' as well as the short-lived '' Talk Magazine''. Newsweek 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 Post ...

in 1961. With increasing competition from online news sources, years of financial losses forced the company to sell the magazine in 2010 to Harman Media, owned by

Merger

In November 2010, it was announced that ''Newsweek'' and ''The Daily Beast'' would merge into a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...

named The Newsweek Daily Beast Company, with IAC and

each owning 50 percent of the new company. Harman's rationale for the merger was that: "In an admittedly challenging time, this merger provides the ideal combination of established journalism authority and bright, bristling website savvy." The company plans to redirect the Newsweek.com address to ''The Daily Beast'', despite the fact that the former has higher traffic.

, who co-founded ''The Daily Beast'', acts as

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

for both ''Newsweek'' and ''The Daily Beast''. Reception to the merger was not positive. As former ''Newsweek'' president Mark Edmiston comments on ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', "I don’t see how you can take two money-losing businesses and put them together and come up with a single entity that makes money." As the two businesses target very different demographics, Edmiston questioned the appeal of the merger to advertisers. ''Newsweek'' staffers reacted ambivalently to the merger. There was opposition to redirecting the Newsweek.com site, due to the amount of effort and work that staffers have spent on building the site. The news came unexpectedly to staffers, a sentiment reflected on SaveNewsweek.com, which states that "It’s always nice to wake up and find out in the Times that your job is doomed". In 2012, it was announced that ''Newsweek'' would stop publishing its print magazine by December. The ''Newsweek'' brand would be retooled as ''Newsweek Global'' and continue as a digital-only magazine for

e-book reader An e-reader, also called an e-book reader or e-book device, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and periodicals. Any device that can display text on a screen may act as an e-read ...

s and

tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being com ...

s. On February 1, 2013, Brian Ries, the social media editor for NewsBeast, announced that the company had changed its name. On August 3, 2013,

announced it had 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''.

Company holdings

The company owned ''

'', a news magazine, and ''

'', a news website.

References

External links

Overview
on the IAC website *
Newsweek
' on ''The Daily Beast'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Newsweek Daily Beast Company Defunct mass media companies of the United States Defunct publishing companies of the United States American companies established in 2010 Mass media companies established in 2010 Publishing companies established in 2010 Mass media companies disestablished in 2013 Publishing companies disestablished in 2013 American companies disestablished in 2013