Newsweek Magazine is on sale now. Not just the newsstand copies but the whole darn thing — publication, trademarks, staff et al. The Washington Post Company, which has owned the title since 1961, admits that the venerable newsweekly has been losing money since 2007; time to move on.

The plight of Newsweek underscores the dilemma facing publishers everywhere: in an era where news itself is free, nearly instantaneous and universally distributed via the wah-wah-wah, can print-based publishers add enough value (both in perception and reality) that consumers will continue to plunk down hard-earned currency for extended analysis and informed commentary?

We think they will, but oh boy, the quality of the content has never been so important. Please note, we don’t necessarily mean intellectually rigorous (although that’d be nice). Sometimes we’re talking about “quality” as applied to quirky trivia, celebrityhood and many of those other facile but fascinating reports. Consumers don’t gobble up magazine articles about Brangelina because they’re so well written — other imperatives are at play (and it would take a whole Dr Phil programme to figure out what those are and how they can be cured).

Newsweek, like its longtime competitor Time Magazine, is all about contextualising the news — explaining WHY something is important, not just that it is so. Any billionaire who picks up the right to publish the esteemed news magazine will need to understand that if the outflow of cash is to be staunched.v

Tags: for sale, Magazines, Newsweek