Going, Going, Gone: Newsweek Sold/Unloaded by Washington Post Co.
Well, at least it wasn't Carlos Slim. Or the Power Rangers Hyper-Zionist Guy. Or any of the other hysterical characters who'd lined up to buy Newsweek, which has now been sold to audio equipment guy Sidney Harman, reported AdAge "according to people familiar with the deal," which PaidContent has now confirmed.
Someone told the New York Times that Harman is going to retain the company's 250 employees, though if that's the case, he better take another head count: Business Insider reported this morning that Newsweek.com managing editor Carl Sullivan jumped ship on Friday. Which goes without mentioning Mark Coatney, Michael Isikoff, Ted Moncreiff, Frank De Maria, Barret Sheridan, Matthew Phillips, or any of the other people Newsweek's lost since the Washington Post Co. announced they were selling it off in early May. Again: Sure it's 250? 'Seems awfully high.
Meanwhile, rumblings of low morale and people who just want to take buyout packages and bounce -- the chances of this happening now sounding a little slim -- persist. Then there's that whole "$70M in losses this year" thing and the rumor that the company was purchased for $1.00 by Harman. Which all goes to say: whatever Newsweek's got in front of it, it won't be pretty, but at least now they know who owns them, which has to be kinda comforting. Kinda.
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