Decades-old magazine Newsweek is undergoing an historic shift to all-digital publication after serving as a major source of news and opinion in the US for the better part of a century.

Newsweek‘s all-digital shift has been a long time coming, with nearly eight full decades in print behind the mag and a storied history. In 2010, Newsweek merged with online property The Daily Beast, and editor Tina Brown confirmed today that the end of 2012 will herald the last issue of Newsweek in print as the mag transitions to digital publishing.

In a note Thursday, Brown began:

“We are announcing this morning an important development at Newsweek and The Daily Beast. Newsweek will transition to an all-digital format in early 2013. As part of this transition, the last print edition in the United States will be our Dec. 31 issue … Newsweek Global, as the all-digital publication will be named, will be a single, worldwide edition targeted for a highly mobile, opinion-leading audience who want to learn about world events in a sophisticated context. Newsweek Global will be supported by paid subscription and will be available through e-readers for both tablet and the Web, with select content available on The Daily Beast.”

Brown spoke of the start of Newsweek‘s digital transition, explaining:

“Four years ago we launched The Daily Beast. Two years later, we merged our business with the iconic Newsweek magazine—which The Washington Post Company had sold to Dr. Sidney Harman. Since the merger, both The Daily Beast and Newsweek have continued to post and publish distinctive journalism and have demonstrated explosive online growth in the process. The Daily Beast now attracts more than 15 million unique visitors a month, a 70 percent increase in the past year alone—a healthy portion of this traffic generated each week by Newsweek’s strong original journalism.”

As is often the case when a mag like Newsweek quits print, Brown admitted that layoffs were inevitable:

“Regrettably we anticipate staff reductions and the streamlining of our editorial and business operations both here in the U.S. and internationally … Exiting print is an extremely difficult moment for all of us who love the romance of print and the unique weekly camaraderie of those hectic hours before the close on Friday night. But as we head for the 80th anniversary of Newsweek next year we must sustain the journalism that gives the magazine its purpose—and embrace the all-digital future.”

Will you miss Newsweek‘s print edition after the final issue on December 31?

Newsweek To Cease In Print, Title Will Go All Digital is a post from: The Inquisitr