In a piece for the June 1 Weekly Standard headlined "Some Industries Deserve Bankruptcy," Andrew Ferguson discusses Newsweek editor Jon Meacham and the "Meachamism," which he defined as "a statement so comically banal or transparently untrue that only a man whom everybody is crazy about or hopes to not get fired by would try to put it into print."
Ferguson had his own favorite Meachamism in a somewhat obscure place: "The book is called My Father, My President, by Doro Bush. On page 218, Doro prints this quotation from Jon: 'An important thing to remember about the press is there is no ideological bias.'"
Ferguson then mocked the first newly designed edition of Newsweek, the one in which Meacham oozed all over Obama, how he was "moving as he wishes to move, and the world bending itself to him." Or at least Newsweek is bending itself to him.
Ferguson wrote that was absurd, since Obama's broken several campaign promises and bent toward the world instead of the other way around.
"While flipping through the pages of Newsweek, it began to occur to everybody that hey, this is a pretty stupid idea for a magazine. Are there really 1.5 million readers -- the number of subscribers Jon has promised advertisers -- who want a liberal opinion magazine written by liberals who don't want to admit they're liberals? Last week everybody look at one another and pondered a world without Newsweek."
Ferguson mocked Katie Couric and Maureen Dowd in the piece, as well. But the article is not online, so you'll have to buy a copy or grab one from someplace.
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.




















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Newsweek
June 1, 2009 - 06:12 ET by svh83"Are there really 1.5 million readers -- the number of subscribers Jon has promised advertisers -- who want a liberal opinion magazine written by liberals who don't want to admit they're liberals?"
Is he referring to the "new Newsweek" here or the "old Newsweek"? Down with the ship, Captain Jon.
"I think you'd better call John, 'cause it don't look they're here to deliver...the mail". -NY
I picked up a Newsweek last
June 1, 2009 - 07:47 ET by nadadhimmiI picked up a Newsweek last week at the Library and was astounded to see how lightweight it had become. It seemed to be only a few pages thick and if I remember correctly the cover price was $5.95. The content was completely liberal. After being a steady News mag reader for 30 yrs, it was amazing to see the deteriorization that has occured in the industry in the 3 yrs since I stopped reading them. Same with Time and US News and World Report. My God, they have withered to the point of being unrecognizable. Perhaps the constant, sycophantic cover photos of the Obama's are and indication of the problem.
I used to buy Newsweek ever
June 1, 2009 - 08:01 ET by Scuba DudeI used to buy Newsweek ever other week when I went to do my laundry. I stopped that practice during the elections because the Obama love fest got to be to much. Hopefully they won't come looking for a handout when their new business model fails miserably.
The Obama Administration: THE most fiscally irresponsible Administration EVER
Good Luck Newsweek!!!
June 1, 2009 - 08:41 ET by flyingmonkeyI commend Newsweek for being honest about their intentions of catering only to liberals. Trying to pass off their magazine as an unbiased news weekly was a lie. I quit reading both Time and Newsweek years ago.
As for their new business model. Good Luck!!! The daily newspapers went in that direction years ago and look what's happening to them.