If the internet came first would we have invented print?
The to that question appears to be yes – if Newsweek is anything to go by. International current affairs magazine which went out of print at the end of 2012 and was bought by IBT Media in August 2013.
Now, after boosting the web traffic, IBT Media have announced plans to bring back the print edition as of this Friday.
Print circulation of Newsweek shrank from over 3m in 2007 to 1.5m in 2012.
The Washington Post Company sold Newsweek to Sidney Harman for $1 in 2010 as he took on $40m in liabilities.
At the end of 2010 it merged with Tina Brown-edited website The Daily Beast and she edited both titles, but failed in her efforts to reinvent the title.
Newsweek editor in chief Jim Impoco told the New York Times: “I had heard it would not be viable, but then I looked into it and decided we could sell some copies for significantly more than it cost to make.”
IBT plans to print 70,000 copies in the US and sell them for $7.99.
The US edition will be available from this Friday, and a London-based European edition – edited by former Daily Express editor Richard Addis, is expected in the coming weeks selling for £4.95.
He told The Guardian that he has an eight-strong editorial team: "We're going to make heavy use of story 'scouts' who will alert us to subjects of interest that are under the radar. Once we pick a subject we'll send someone in with full support to bring back the story."
The move from digital to print mirrors the example of a number of UK local media websites over the last year.
These include: The Macclesfield Express, which launched with an eight-strong team in September after initial success online.
He told Press Gazette he had decided to move into print because: “There is no money to be made in online general news websites.”
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