Newsweek is one of the biggest magazines to hit the auction block in years. Washington Post Co. chairman Donald Graham said in a statement that Newsweek is a lively, important magazine and website, and in the current climate, it might be a better fit elsewhere. Advertising revenue at Newsweek fell 37 percent last year. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), Newsweek has seen its circulation fall from 3.144 million to 2.7 million from 2000 to 2008.

According to the Publishers Information Bureau, Newsweek magazine's ad pages fell 6.7% in 2007, 19% in 2008, and 26% in 2009. Shares of Washington Post Co. were down 0.6% to $499.93 on Wednesday. The proposed sale of Newsweek magazine is a sign of the ongoing difficulties across the print media industry Newsweek was founded in 1933 by Thomas Martyn, a former foreign editor at Time magazine, with a cover price of 10 cents per copy.