Newsweek’s fall from respected publication to tabloid trash has been a remarkable and sad spectacle.
Like many other print publications, Newsweek struggled with reduced circulation when online news became the preferred medium for news consumption. In 2012, Newsweek printed what was supposed to be its last edition.
That was until it was bought out by the International Business Times in 2013, an online publication with shall we say, very strong connections to a Korean cult leader who fancies himself the second-coming of Christ.
In 2014, Newsweek was able to recruit a handful of respectable journalists and resumed print.
And it’s rapidly rolled downhill ever since.
Last week was particularly brutal for Newsweek. They managed to misquote Donald Trump Jr., suggest Trump’s hair loss medication was causing erectile dysfunction, and peddle a five-month-old conspiracy theory that Hillary could still become president.
What he really said:
“My father sees one color—green. That is all he cares about. He cares about the economy. He does not see race. He is the least racist person I ever met in my entire life.”
Insider reports suggest that life at Newsweek is just as bad behind the scenes as the garbage they publish suggests:
As if all of that wasn’t bad enough, the Manhattan DA’s office rolled up to Newsweek’s headquarters last week with a search warrant.
From the New York Post:
About two dozen investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office converged on the downtown newsroom of Newsweek on Thursday — taking photos of computers and servers, sources said.In addition to the newsroom, the fifth floor of 7 Hanover Square also houses Newsweek Media Group, the publication’s parent company — formerly known as IBT Media.The investigators, who arrived shortly before 8 a.m., focused on the computers’ serial numbers — and walked out six hours later carrying several of the servers, sources said.The probe is believed to be connected to Olivet University, the San Francisco school tied to the controversial South Korean evangelical pastor David Jang, one source said.Jang has close ties to the founders of IBT Media.A lawyer for the company, in a brief talk to shaken and mystified staffers roughly halfway through the raid, said the police action was part of a 17-month investigation.“People are very upset, because apparently there was a 17-month investigation and no one told us anything,” said one person close to the company.Late Thursday, Newsweek Media Group acknowledged that agents from the DA’s office had been searching their servers for the better part of the day.“Representatives of the New York County [Manhattan] District Attorney’s Office visited the New York City offices of Newsweek Media Group today to conduct a search of the company’s computer servers to obtain technical information about the servers.“The company provided the DA’s representatives with access to the computer servers on location to allow for a technical inspection within the law.“No information regarding the company’s content, stories, personnel, or sources was given and Newsweek Media Group has been assured by the DA’s office that the investigation is not about any content-related issues,” the statement said.
To quote Trump, the whole ordeal is just Sad!™
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