Distressed magazine Newsweek, which the Washington Post Co. put up for sale in May, got several bids by yesterday’s 5 pm deadline.
According to BusinessWeek, media executive Fred Drasner and investment firm Avenue Capital Group submitted separate offers to buy the magazine.
Drasner is a former exec at U.S. News & World Report and The New York Daily News. Avenue Capital specializes in distressed assets.
Politico is also reporting industrialist Sidney Harman, husband of Rep. Jane Harman and Marc Lasry, a hedge fund founder, are leading contenders for the mag. According to the Politico reporter Newsweek both men are “establishment stalwarts who are interested in Washington and global influence,” so the mag won’t go all-digital.
A decision could take weeks. It’s expected the buyer will have to make personnel cuts. Newsweek currently has 150 editorial and 200 business staffers.
I used to be a Newsweek (plus other news magazines) subscriber but I have to read alternative media when I discovered that most of the American magazines only play a kind of official script. Where are the journalists that went after the news and provided insight comments and analysis?