After weeks of rumor, 77-year-old weekly print publication Newsweek, and 2-year-old online news and opinion site The Daily Beast have announced a 50/50 joint merger — and the union’s first casualty is Newsweek CEO Tom Ascheim, according to The New York Post.
The new company — to be called The Newsweek Daily Beast Company — will be owned equally by Sidney Harman, who purchased Newsweek for a reported $1 from The Washington Post Co. this summer, and the The Daily Beast’s owner, IAC.
Tina Brown, the current editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast and former editor of Vanity Fair, Tatler and The New Yorker, will serve as editor-in-chief of both Newsweek and The Daily Beast. The news of the merger was officially released this morning.
Wow. I know I don't read Newsweek much anymore. I kinda knew this was coming. But to see this up on Mashables ... all lined up together is scary.
Yeah. This is a takeover.
I still remember when the Daily Beast first started: people were wondering openly if Tina Brown has lost her sanity for choosing to participate in some blog. Now, they are taking over Newsweek.
Who knows what is going to happen? Maybe this is the mini-"Times Warner-AOL" deal for the 2010's. I wonder if anybody used the word "synergy" in their pitch.
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