It’s issue number two for the revamped Newsweek, and, in theory, it seems to be onto a good thing. The previous week, editor-in-chief Jon Meacham detailed the transition, making a rather bold move in assuming that in today’s high-tech information age, readers of the magazine wanted longer, more “magazine-y” stories.
For balance, newsweek.com has been redone as well, featuring a wealth of photos and videos, as well as audio. So, judging from Meacham’s plan, at least, Newsweek is acknowledging the future of journalism while remaining footed in the past.
On paper it all sounds nice and commendable, but has anything really changed? I compared issue two of the new era (29 October) to the last issue of the old style (15 October), and the answer is: well, kind of.
The nameplate is a brighter red, and the table of contents is less crowded. The main stories certainly are longer. They start and end more like magazine stories. But everything between is what you’d expect from a newsmagazine. The other pages are still full of the briefs that Newsweek has always had.
The cover story of this issue is about the rising danger of Pakistan for the United States. It spans nine pages and contains many photos, and its spreads resemble that of a regular monthly magazine. The reporting is well done and the topic is relevant—but this is something we could have seen in any newsmagazine. It’s just told with more words. I already know that the rest of the world hates us, and an anti-American protest on the cover does not command my attention, regardless of how they tell the story.
To be fair, the previous issue—the first revamped one—featured an interesting profile of Blackwater USA’s mysterious Erik Prince. While it was typical fare for the most part, the end was totally killer. I’m willing to forget the fact that the 29 October issue let me down if they’re going to write like this in the future:
Though he despises doing media interviews, Prince felt his company had been so maligned he was compelled to speak out. The interview with NEWSWEEK over, the reporter was ushered out, past a large portrait of George Washington, on his knees in the snow beside a white horse, praying. Fox News played on the TV screen. On the door of the suite of the offices in the faceless building in the corporate sprawl of northern Virginia, there is no name.
So the new Newsweek has little gems like that in its pocket. They wrap the story up in a way that is more literary than news-oriented, and this story makes for fine reading.
But, in the bigger picture, I find myself wishing they’d put a story on the cover that we don’t expect. I wish they’d dig up new things instead of giving us more detail about things we already know, i.e. the Pakistan story. They can tell it however they want; I just want them to tell something new.
So maybe nothing much has changed. The covers will still look the same and the stories will still be relevant, well-reported, and predictable—just longer.
–Dave Canfield
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