On “Newsweek’s Digital Future”

Newsweek and its counterpart The Daily Beast just announced that all content will be going digital in early 2013. 

From editor Tina Brown’s all-staff email:

Newsweek will transition to an all-digital format in early 2013. As part of this transition, the last print edition in the U.S. will be our December 31st issue. Meanwhile, Newsweek will expand its rapidly growing tablet and online presence, as well as its successful global partnerships and events business.

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. 

Many will argue that this is the way of the future, and Newsweek is simply the first to take the jump.

I disagree.

Admittedly, I am fully hooked into the digital revolution, or whatever you want to call it. I constantly absorb content through my iPhone, iPad and laptop. I listen to NPR podcasts on my iPod shuffle when I go for a run. I read e-books on my kindle.

But guess what? Sometimes, my batteries die and I’m stuck in an airport. Or my eyes get tired of looking at screens all day. Or I want to read from a piece of paper, just because I like it. Now, when those moments come, Newsweek will no longer be an option.

I used to subscribe to Newsweek’s weekly, paper magazine. I switched to TIME a year ago out of personal preference, but no matter the publication, I appreciate receiving that booklet in the mail once a week. A booklet with pages full of news and opinions and photos. For me, there is a sense that the value of the content increases when I have it on the printed page.

So, I’ll continue getting my news content from a mysterious algorithm of sources: Twitter, my tumblr feed, the New York Times website, and whatever else comes my way. But each week, I will always find a magazine in my mailbox, full of solid, tangible news.