Newsweek is adapting

An article today in the New York Times discussed Newsweek's plans to make major changes in its identity. No longer will Newsweek focus on the "what" of news events, but rather, focus on the "how," "why" and "here's what to do about it," with larger opinion sections. As Newsweek continues to lose readers (including myself who stopped subscribing to Newsweek when my subscription ran out in December), they are trying to narrow their new audience to the "best-educated, most avid consumers of news, and who have higher incomes than the average reader." The newsweekly will have four broad sections in the new version: "short takes, columnists and commentary, long reporting pieces like the cover articles, and culture — each with less compulsion to touch on the week’s biggest events." Newsweek changing aligns with what we have been talking about in class regarding the changing scope of new media and how the survival of these newsweeklies in their current form are unlikely. While we'll have to wait and see if this change is a success, it is acknowledging that a change is necessary for survival that is the first step - Newsweek is on the right track. Hopefully it will work out for the magazine.