Newsweek ending print edition
NEW YORK (AP) -- Newsweek plans to end its print publication after 80 years and will shift to an online-only format starting in early 2013. Job cuts are expected.
Newsweek's last U.S. print edition will be its Dec. 31 issue.
Barry Diller, the head of the company that owns Newsweek, had announced in July that the publication was examining its future as a weekly print magazine.
The announcement of the change was made by Tina Brown, editor-in-chief and founder of The Newsweek Daily Beast Co., on The Daily Beast website Thursday.
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"Newsweek Global, as the all-digital publication will be named, will be a single, worldwide edition targeted for a highly mobile, opinion-leading audience who want to learn about world events in a sophisticated context," Brown said in a statement. "Newsweek Global will be supported by paid subscription and will be available through e-readers for both tablet and the Web, with select content available on The Daily Beast."
Brown said staff cuts are expected, but didn't give a specific figure.
"We are transitioning Newsweek, not saying goodbye to it. We remain committed to Newsweek and to the journalism that it represents," she said. "This decision is not about the quality of the brand or the journalism--that is as powerful as ever. It is about the challenging economics of print publishing and distribution."
Brown said that the online publication will be called Newsweek Global and will be a single, worldwide edition that requires a paid subscription. It will be available for tablets and online reading, with certain content available on The Daily Beast website.