Newsweek Goes Digital

Newsweek New York headquarters. (Peter Foley/EPA)

"Emerging technology and digital tools have transformed the landscape of print media and publishing."

This has become the mantra of almost every communications, news writing and reporting class. As members of the distinctive "Gen Y" category, we have heard this sentiment be expressed so often that it almost qualifies as an old adage. LA Times covered Newsweek's announcement  that they will be moving to a strictly online format in the upcoming months. The article states that users can access the website's "sophisticated" format and content by becoming paid subscribers. 

Quite a few large publications, including Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and The New York Times have transitioned into online publishing by allowing unregistered subscribers to view a limited amount of content while paying site visitors get full access to an unlimited amount of articles. Moreover, these three publications maintain their print counterparts but have scaled back in various other production and printing methods. After 80 years of publication, Newsweek is one of the first magazines to completely halt their print edition and move into digital-only format. Editor in Chief Tina Brown says this move was motivated by several reasons, one of them being the fact that 39% of Americans are beleived to access the news online.

What kind of unique opportunities are available from being strictly digital?

Do you think other publications will follow suit?

Who's next and what does this mean for print journalism?

Comment away!