Bozell Column: The End of Newsweek?

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Newsweek greeted the coming of Easter with a black cover, and the headline "The Decline and Fall of Christian America," spelled out in red in the shape of a cross. Inside, it was more declarative: "The End of Christian America." Why? Because they found that the percentage of self-identified Christians had fallen 10 points since 1990. Okay, then let’s compare. How much has Newsweek’s circulation fallen since 1990? Just since 2007, their announced circulation has dropped by 52 percent. It would be more plausible to state "The End of Newsweek."

At the end of 2007, Newsweek reduced its "base rate" (or circulation guaranteed to advertisers) from 3.1 million to 2.6 million, a 16 percent drop. At the end of 2008, the Wall Street Journal reported that Newsweek, faced with an estimated 21 percent decline in ad pages, could soon drop that circulation number by another 500,000 to 1 million readers. In February, the magazine confirmed the million-issue drop, saying it would drop to a base of 1.9 million in July and 1.5 million readers by January 2010.

"Mass for us is a business that doesn’t work," Tom Ascheim, Newsweek’s chief executive, told the New York Times. "Wish it did, but it doesn’t. We did it for a long time, successfully, but we can’t anymore." Now that U.S. News & World Report waved a white flag and said it would only publish monthly, the evidence is much stronger for wondering about the decline and fall of the American "news magazine" – as if Time and Newsweek haven’t already shed that label in everything but name.

Newsweek’s strategy in the midst of all its financial decline is to double and triple the amount of editorializing, cast aside all semblance of "news" in favor of long, liberal essays by self-impressed Newsweek editor Jon Meacham and his international editor Fareed Zakaria. Is that really a business solution, or is it the captains performing violin solos on the deck of the Titanic?

One has to wonder whether Newsweek’s financial gurus really think it’s a smart business strategy to greet the Easter season with funerals for "Christian America," and greet the Christmas season by making the "religious case for gay marriage"? (That’s not to mention all the reverent Obama worship in between.)

Christianity, in contrast to Newsweek, is in decent demographic shape. The American Religious Identification Survey that Newsweek touted – from Trinity College in Connecticut -- estimated there are now 173.4 million self-identified Christians in America, up from 151.2 million in 1990. The percentage declined, but the actual number increased.

The real bold-faced result in the survey that spawned Newsweek’s cover is the rise of what the pollsters called the "nones," up from 14 million to 34 million. In a typically ponderous essay, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham welcomed the alleged decline and fall of "the modern religious right’s notion of a Christian America" because it creates a "calmer" political environment and a more "theologically serious religious life."

Translation: the "culture wars" should be declared over, and the left should be declared the winner. The Christian right should slink back to its church buildings and keep its antiquated notions of sin and salvation out of the public square. "Calmer" Christians will seek a creed that chummily goes along and gets along with the modern, secular culture. Only surrender on social issues is "theologically serious."

Newsweek watchers might find it odd that Christians should surrender, but Muslims should be granted greater respect. A month ago, Newsweek’s cover announced "Radical Islam is a fact of life. How to live with it." Fareed Zakaria argued the smart strategy was "nuanced, noncombative rhetoric" that avoids sweeping declarations like "war on terror." Zakaria’s piece ended right in the secular liberal’s sweet spot. He was confident radical Islamism would eventually lose adherents, because "they lack answers to the problems of the modern world. They do not have a world view that can satisfy the aspirations of modern men and women. We do. That’s the most powerful weapon of all."

Modernity will win, and archaic religion will lose. All this leads back to the sneaking suspicion that the top minds at Newsweek think they are the wisest of men, the definers of trends and the shepherds of public opinion. So why is everyone abandoning their advice? Why are the captains of a magazine that’s lost half its circulation telling the rest of us where the mainstream lies?


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Dying Gasps

Bias aside, the magazine has become an unreadable left wing vanity publication.   It will soon be "web only".

"The Decline of Christian

"The Decline of Christian America."

 As a pastor of a small church, I can tell you that my church has grown.  I have just one thing to say to Newsweek.

 

You wish! 

church construction in

church construction in America is booming:)

but Jesus had been global for quite some time now...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080609125959AAoeT6R

"Jesus had been global for quite some time now... "

Yeah, but His Dad did most of the work. He just inherited the Family business.

;^) 

 

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."-John Adams

IJ

Excellent!!! And look what He did without a cell phone or the internet!

Thank you, sir

Good to see you here, misterbill. I highly value your opinions and compliments.

I also hear that it was "community organizers" who pushed for His execution.   >;^) 

 

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."-John Adams

As far I'm concerned, Newsweek...

died years ago...My husband and I started taking Newsweek in 1983, shortly after we were married, and we always enjoyed reading it. During the '90's, we began to notice a left-tilt to the writing from time to time, but overlooked it at first. Then, President Bush (43) was elected, and Newsweek quickly became almost unreadable because of the flagrant anti-right, anti-Bush bias. We toughed in out for a year after his election, but finally we couldn't stand it any longer, and we cancelled our subscription, and we told them why.

Obviously, as Newsweek's subscription numbers make clear, we weren't the only ones...  

"...peace is the highest aspiration of the American People. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it, we will never surrender for it, now or ever." President Ronald Reagan~ January 20, 1981

I felt the same way

I subscribed for years, starting in 1973 to about 1998.   Touching it now is like looking at something "unclean".

Meachem will be remembered

Meachem will be remembered as the psuedo intellectual that drove this enterprise into the ground. This guy is a joke!

d1... Agreed. There are

d1...

Agreed.

There are others...but he takes the cake.

Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart

I think we should start

I think we should start universally referring to this waste-of-trees as "Newswreck".

The Newsweaklings Who Work There Won't Like That...

...so I will.

We should also pledge that we will cancel subscriptions to any publication that puts Obama's picture on the cover.

Whatttt....?

Huhhh?

Newsweek reports on declining percentage of Christians...true.

You point out the numbers have increased, though agree with Newsweek on the number declining...still true.

Somehow tying the dropoff of Newsweek circulation to...poor reporting because of...?

Translation: the "culture wars" should be declared over, and the left
should be declared the winner. The Christian right should slink back to
its church buildings and keep its antiquated notions of sin and
salvation out of the public square. "Calmer" Christians will seek a
creed that chummily goes along and gets along with the modern, secular
culture. Only surrender on social issues is "theologically serious."

This is what you wanted to say, correct? There is a Culture War between the Christian Right(conservatives) and Secular Society/Culture(liberals) get your pitchforks & torches ready?

What is the Mainstream Media if everyone reads their news from multiple venues, ie...online, newspapers, magazines, books, cable and god forbid regular T-V that no one watches. It sure is a different world today than 1990 (19 years ago!)...how long do you "combat & expose liberal media bias" if the liberal mainstream media is nothing but a paper tiger? (pun intended)

Those who read Newsweek magazine- medical offices usually have a boat load of them- probably skim the articles just like the posters skimming this site. No big deal, in my opinion. Titillation sells! Might as well get some press from those who are going to have a tizzy- the Christian Right...if it still exists.

Ahhh...the mooslims are coming, the mooslims are coming! 

I read through this site and thought it was supposedly getting away from religious comments? What's the big deal if more people from different religions are coming together in a more harmonious fashion? Secularism is a hell of a lot better than a theocracy.

protocol9

taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear the most. -dostoyevski

Who, wishes this were a theocracy Prot? I know of no one on

the Christian right that has ever promoted this concept.

Not even Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson.

I believe you just enjoy the boogeyman.

No...P9 is another troll

No...P9 is another troll here...just a trolling.

The infestation of them is getting deep... down and dirty...and I am sick to death of it.

Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart

Please do not try to insult.

Bigtimer,

I have a different point of view...not necessarily yours. I'm not a liberal or a conservative. Actually, I just came upon this site and thought some of the comments were pretty damn good while others were off the wall. I don't mind discussing issues as long as they're on topic. I've noticed a few ad hominem attacks in the first day by those who don't like what I have said. Hell, I made a mistake and owned up to it. It would be great if you could just keep on topic and stop with the insults. Is that way too much to ask? 

protocol9

taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear the most. -dostoyevski

P9...Yeah...right.Same old

P9...

Yeah...right.

Same old trolling lines....blah blah blah.

I am so used to you all it isn't funny anymore. I ususally look the other way...but you are allowed to stay far too long to divert ...that is all you do.

Fool some of the people some of the time...you aren't me.

Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart

bt

Looks like you were correct in your initial assessment protocol_9.

Just curious

Protocol - your name is obviously a misnomer.

What would you think if a new neighbor came into your living room and started telling you where to put your furniture and how to punish your kids? You would probably think they were somewhere between extremely rude and horribly ego-centric. 

Forums are kind of like a living room. New people are welcome, but when they storm in demanding that others post certain ways or expecting that readers will respond to them the way they want, it is unwelcome. If you don't like the way the people in this forum act - then GO AWAY. I am sure there are other forums where you will fit right in. 

 

"I would rather be historically accurate than politically correct" ~ My husband's T-Shirt

Christian decline and

Christian decline and revival - we been there done that for a very long time

in case the dudes interested

http://www.scribd.co...

Agreed, I was hoping he could name one "Christian right" leader

that actually wanted a Theocratic America...but I actually knew that would be impossible... 

 

 

The Mooslims were here

The Mooslims were here on 9-11. Did you notice that none of them were named Smith, Jones , Jackson, Gonzalez, Boudreaux Naquin, O'Brien or Broccato?

Jesus Loves You so much He died for you

I noticed they were mostly Saudis.

Cocodrie,

I don't disagree with your point. It's too bad we haven't been able to get the main guy...what was his name again. If you want to read a few good books on 9/11 & how the government failed us...Richard Clarke's "Against All Enemies" & "Your Government Failed You." will open your eyes to some of the reasons.

Good Christians have never been terrorists attacking the Homeland? Hmmm...The Google.

protocol9

taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear the most. -dostoyevski

Good evening Protocol

I consider Richard Clarh an authority on misinformation and distortion of truth and nothing else.

Please tell me when  Chriatians deliberately shot, rocketed, and used children and others as human shields in this country or any other country. Mooslims are the only practitioners of this barbaric tactic.

Jesus Loves You so much He died for you

God isn't looking for fair

God isn't looking for fair weather believers man

decline and persecution of Christianity has always been fantastic tool for separating the wheat from the chaff

thank God for being a such a huge tool bud:)!

I followed "The Google" link you provided. The responses

were not reliable & some were insane.  Wikipedia? OMG...  how about SOF?  OK... 

Hey, how about that William Ayers who loves to hate America?

Do you enjoy flag trampling?

Just a thought... the most ignorant here at NB would qualify as a RS at KOS.

I especially love how the

I especially love how the lone teenage crazy who killed 8 people and just happened to be Christian is automatically a "Christian Terrorist." By that logic, I guess Ted Bundy was a "Christian Terrorist." Better yet, the gist of the story linked to is about the priest sexual-abuse scandal. Talk about casting a wide net!

Of course, it's usually pretty hard to find a religious ID in a story on Mohammed Whatsizname when he sets off a bomb, or is found with hundreds of cell-phones, often used as remote detonators.

After all, we wouldn't want to profile anybody.  

 

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."-John Adams

If I wanted to read fiction...

I would not choose Richard Clarke's terrible writing.  Oh wait I know him he was the one when the planes were heading towards the World Trade Center wanted an appointment with the President to talk about the most serious terrorist threat the nation faced.  Cyber terrorism.  That idiot?  Richard Clarke oh no as I said I do not read fiction.

Jack

"If at age 20 you are a conservative then you have no heart.  If at age 30 you are a liberal then you have no brains."   Sir Winston Churchill

Everyone's a Terrorist!

Yep, those Christians really know how to terrorize.  This is evident with the way the pop-media and Hollywood walk on eggshells whenever they talk about Christianity.

Whatever.  I'm too much of a realist to subscribe to such propaganda.

Oh, and for what it's worth... hmm... Google yourself

Odd.

  Odd that someone that has never heard of the pi314 character would have 2 of his favorite books on his bookshelf. 

Sincerely,

a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars. 

You quoted the masthead

You quoted the masthead mission statement, so apparently you read it...

So enlighten us: where did you get the idea that this site is "getting away from religious comments?"

Your reading comprehension level is also piss-poor. Re-read the post in it's entirety, and pay close attention to the facts presented. Then I'm sure you will agree your post is utter BS.

Mooslims are here, Mooslims are here

September 11, 2001

Jack

"If at age 20 you are a conservative then you have no heart.  If at age 30 you are a liberal then you have no brains."   Sir Winston Churchill

For the wishy-washy

Yet another poster who professes to be wishy-washy in order to cover up what he/she really, truly believes. 

 Secularism is a hell of a lot better than a theocracy.  Yet I can't seem to find many Leftists who like the idea of taking a hard line with a theocracy. Instead, we are to endlessly TALK to them. 

By the way, can you find for me anyplace where anyone here has advocated a theocracy for this country?

"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)

lacking protocol

"Christian Right"?  As opposed to the "Atheist Left"?  Or "Neo-Pagan Left"?

Please spare us the patronizing new-left monikers if you care to have a rational discussion here.

The Almighty has his own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offences which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope--fervently do we pray--that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.  -- Abraham Lincoln (R)

Proto

Do you really think you are coming up with anything new? We have heard anything you have to say before. 

And before you accuse anyone of wanting America to be a theocracy, you should look it up first. You see, theocracies are those countries that curb rights of women; jail, maim or kill those that profess a different religion; jail, maim, or kill homosexuals; state sanctioned, all of this. Yet you want us to uuunnndddeeerrrssstttaaannnnddd them. Then they won't hhhaaaatttteeeee us. 

I must admit, you have made me grin with your naivete, just a little. 

"This
liberal would be all about socialize -- uh, uh, would be about
basically taking over and the government running all of your companies."-Maxine Waters 2008

Jesus and Christianity really frighten this guy, don't they?

"But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned." -- The Holy Bible at First Corinthians Chap. 2, verse 14.

"The beginning of the words of his mouth [is] foolishness: and the end of his talk [is] mischievous madness." -- The Holy Bible at Eccelesiates Chap. 10, verse 13.

"A reproof enters more into a wise man than a hundred stripes into a fool." -- Holy Bible at Proverbs Chap.17, verse 10.

"The fool has said there is no God." -- Holy Bible at Psalms Chap. 54, verse 1.

Oh, by the way, you're too deceived to understand the folly of your words about secularism.

Rejecting God may be good for a bit, if you're so inclined, but if you make it a way of life, one day you won't have life to unmake, and then you'll be headed for eternal real estate on which you were never intended to inhabit.

But go ahead and mock God.

Oh, yes: The Christian Right? If by that you mean Christians who desire the respect of God more than the respect of men, then, indeed. Hey, why not just call us out there Orthodox Christians? That'd make room for the "Liberal" Christians, right?

<crickets>

protocol9 = another drive-by troll-bot

Thats interesting...

I believe the NRA and ILA magazines has a higher circulation than that. Theirs is increasing not decreasing. Makes one wonder????

"I need more cowbell!" SNL

Doctor Office Magazines

Perhaps Newsweek and Time will end up simply as 'doctor office magazines'. Like elevator music, or those airline magazines, no one will know or care where they come from, they will only be something to page through when you are stuck with nothing else to do, and when you set it down you won't know five minutes later what you read. Good riddance.

Yeah, Slick, like AARP magazine...

AARP, Time, and Newsweek will be distributed free to all doctor's offices and public libraries.  Of course, by then they'll be fully taxpayer funded so...

Someone has to say it...

Na na na na... Na na na na... hey he-ey... goo-ood-bye!

And good riddance.

(I mean Newsweek, obviously I hope.)

 

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."-John Adams

Hey IJ... You have me

Hey IJ...

You have me laughing here...So good to see you ...

I knew what you meant...and I, of course, agree, as I always seem to do with you.  ;-)

Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart

Howdy, BT

I just wanted to be clear. There are some here who might want to twist meanings, de-rail threads, that kind of thing. Hard to believe, I know....   ;^) 

Just dropped in for a few minutes. Hope you and yours are well. 

 

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."-John Adams

Amen to that IJ!

Love your quote! 

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It
is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."-John Adams"

Sage SAGE SAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, pahuber

On that topic, I seem to have a problem with length on my tag-lines. In fact, to fit that one I had to omit the spaces around the "-".

Anyone out there know a way around that? Coz I have some good ones saved up, but they won't fit the format. Or, do you just C&P the quote into each posting when that happens? 

That seems kind of tedious.... 

 

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."-John Adams

Not sure IJ, but glad you have the quote. Thank you for your

posts.

I've got the same

I've got the same problem.  I've been adding all but a few letters of Musashi's name to the sig on each of my posts for... well, as long as I've been using the quote.  

www.daybydaycartoon.... Proving that conservative comedy is very real.

"With your mind as high as Mt. Fuji you can see all things clearly. And you can see all the forces that shape events; not just the things near to you." - Miyamoto Musashi

"God is dead" Newsweek

"Newsweek is dead"   God

 Jack

"If at age 20 you are a conservative then you have no heart.  If at age 30 you are a liberal then you have no brains."   Sir Winston Churchill

Newsweek circulation numbers are really even lower

I started receiving a copy of Newsweek the week before BO was inaugurated.  It was unwanted and unwelcome.  I thought the first issue was some sort of teaser, but I received a second one the following week.  When I called to find out who had ordered it and to get it stopped - I was told that when I bought an item on Amazon during the holiday season, I was automatically given a free subscription to Newsweek.

I asked them to cancel the subscription - well, guess what? I couldn't.  They didn't have a process for doing that.  I could, however, put it on permanent hold with a stop delivery request (like when you stop mail while you are on vacation.) That means that I have this subscription until it runs out - which means I have to restart it.  Classic Catch-22.  I am sure that Newsweek will use my "subscription" as part of the circulation count guarantee to their advertisers until they go out of business.

I wonder how much of their circulation numbers come from this kind of unwanted delivery of the magazine?

 

"I wonder how much of their

"I wonder how much of their circulation numbers come from this kind of unwanted delivery of the magazine"

Good point.

Maybe they really only have 12 readers.  :-)

-Dave

This coup has gone on long enough. The time to put it down is NOW.

so newswekk is on the skids. 50% drop in 2 years?

No wonder they want to see other drops. News Flsah. There are 500,000,000 pentecostals on this planet. here were none 108 years ago. Neewsweak magazine will die like Life did.

Isn't this the

Isn't this the same magazine that will mock "mega-churches" ?  Do they pull these stories out of their a$$?

Weasels

Just since 2007, their announced circulation has dropped by 52 percent. It would be more plausible to state "The End of Newsweek."

 

The End is near for Newsweek and it's editors write biased dribble and pat themselves on the back, not caring that their employees are on the way to unemployement lines.

Newsweek cares not that there is a whole other world outside of their Liberal/Progressive bubble: Pop Goes The Weasel!

Newsweek? No, Obamaweek. Please, let's get this straight.

Yes, Newsweek died years ago.

Whatever passed for it was resurrected many months ago as Obamaweek.

And given that pretend-Christian Obama really appears to loathe Christians, especially their pro-life stance and their speaking and/or writing about the Word of God, the Holy Bible--well, Obamaweek is the perfect outlet for him.

He and they wish that Christianity would disappear.

Would make their individual and collective consciences easier to deal with, they think.

Little do the know that they'll never stamp out Christianity, no matter how much they try through written words, wishes or, yes, even force.

Newsweak is...

The only useful thing that a copy of Newsweek would be good for a is littering waiting rooms in doctor's clinics and whacking dogs for crapping in the floor.

2010: A GOP Hill

Why Don't They See The Threat Of Radical Islam The Same Way?

It always boggles me that liberals don't see how much of a bigger threat radical Islam is to the secular culture than the Religious Right. If Islamic clerics had their way in America, they won't just keep naked women off of TV, they'll keep women off of TV period. If Islamic clerics had their way, it would be off with our secularists' heads. I don't know about you, but I would like to keep my head, so I'm just wondering, "Why do the liberals find a couple of irritating Chrisitans more threatening than radical Islam?"

It's hard out here for a Lib, sometimes.

~"It's hard out here for a Lib, sometimes."

If you're looking for a pity party, you came to the wrong site. :-)

 

That high-pitched scream you hear is the troll under my heel. 

Oh, you Crazy Christians!

You think abstinence is a solution to teen pregnancy.  Oh no!  You think it is better that we don't kill little babies that happen to be inside their mamas.  Oh no!   How insidious!  You cruel, cruel barbarians! WTFE.

Responsibility is the price of freedom. - Elbert Hubbard

Wait ... they're still in print?

The only time we here about Newsweek is when they print a controversial cover. Notice, it's never for a great story. In summary, if a tree falls on a bear who's sh*tting in the woods ... that's Newsweek! 

Wishful thinking for libs

The cover represents the fondest wishes of the left - that Christianity is eliminated, and replaced by a totalitarian, repressive ideology that destroys Western Civilization.

What ideology is that? pick one: the religion of peace or marxism. Not much difference.

 

many of us who are Christians-

might be the time to send newsweek and little note saying i'm a Christian and i choose not to buy your magazine, or support any advertisers once i learn they advertise inside newsweek covers.

should make the post office happy for a day or so. 

 

BHO- POTUS, is a Liar and Socialist

 

 

 

for many a year as i traveled-

Newsweek kept company with me. no longer. i sent them a little note, have no idea if it impacts them but had to write.

I will no longer buy or support any advertiser of Newsweek.i suggest Christians around the world also pull support from the magazine and their advertisers. 

 

 

BHO- POTUS, is a Liar and Socialist