The future looks gloomy for one of America's most iconic magazines. Today, the Washington Post Co. announced it's selling Newsweek after losing tens of millions of dollars on it over the last two years. "Our aim will be--if we can do it--a rapid sale to a qualified buyer," said Donald Graham, the Washington Post Co. chairman. The move casts a dark shadow over the 77-year-old institution's future. Will it survive?

• It Doesn't Look Good, observes Peter Kafka at All Things Digital: "In corporatespeak, this is equivalent to hastily scrawling out a 'Going Out of Business-Name Your Price' sign and plastering it on the front window. Anyone want to make a bid? Newsweek saw revenue decline 29 percent last year and ended up losing $29.3 million on sales of $184 million."

• It's Not That Bad, insists Colby Hall at Mediaite: "The bottom line is that Newsweek is seeing ad revenues return to pre-recession levels, and combined with a rather dramatic reduction in losses, the weekly news title is moving very close to hitting their break even target for 2011. One would have to think that selling Newsweek when it is growing and in a stronger media market is preferable to selling it in a down market like last year, which is probably why the decision was made now."
  

• They Tried to Mimic the Economist--It Didn't Work, writes Jon Friedman at MarketWatch: "Newsweek's answer has been predictable: Follow the leader. In this case, The Economist, though hardly the biggest magazine in circulation, has been anointed as the industry pacesetter for style, attitude and ideas. Newsweek has tried hard lately to present its impression of The Economist by disdaining news events for interpretation and analysis. It's commendable -- but ill-fated. We already have The Economist, we don't need a knockoff."

• Why Would Anyone Want to Buy It? wonders Michael Roston at True/Slant: "When you think about it, Newsweek doesn't really have any other assets to sell, does it? Much has been made recently about the whiplash faced by staffers as they keep being forced to move offices repeatedly. So the sale of Newsweek will really just be to whomever wants to control the name, the URL, and the archives - not to some private equity firm that wants to make a mint by flipping their expensive headquarters."

• Even Worse: Newsweek Owes a Debt to Its Subscribers, notes Patrick Gavin at Politico: "One other thing to consider: Newsweek may find itself in a situation where its liabilities outweigh its assets. It's important to remember that a magazine subscription is a contract so Newsweek has many obligations they would need to fulfill to current subscribers. This could easily number in the tens of millions of dollars."

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at jhudson at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
John Hudson