Our Views: Newsweek goes online
Reading the last printed issue of Newsweek recently, we were reminded of the special pleasures of print magazines, and that made us wistful about Newsweek’s departure from the nation’s newsstands and mailboxes.
The last printed edition of Newsweek was published at the close of 2012. Going forward, Newsweek will be a strictly online publication produced in conjunction with its sister online publication, The Daily Beast.
As a newspaper that publishes both in print and online, we welcome the unique possibilities of digital media. Digital formats allow editors and writers extra flexibility and timeliness, which can be a big plus for journalists and the audiences they serve. We wish Newsweek well in its new incarnation.
Print formats have special attributes, too. Holding the last printed Newsweek in our hands, we were reminded of the nice feeling one gets while holding a news magazine in one’s hands. The physical heft of the pages suggests that something important must be inside the covers of a magazine.
That feeling is sometimes illusory, we know. But expectation is a vital part of the reading experience. We’ll miss seeing the printed Newsweek around our office, and waiting to flip through its pages.