Jane Harman's husband buys Newsweek

That's what the magazine is reporting about itself:

The Washington Post Company announced today that it has signed a contract to sell NEWSWEEK to Sidney Harman, a successful businessman who made his fortune in audio equipment and is a well-known philanthropist.

Harman, 91, the founder and chairman emeritus of Harman International, was one of several bidders for the magazine, according to sources familiar with the process, and the deal was not concluded until today, even as some of the interested parties upped their bids this morning.

The parties did not disclose the terms of sale, but news reports have suggested the selling price was quite low, in part because Harman is assuming the publication's liabilities. The point of the sale — from the Washington Post's perspective — is to unload Newsweek without killing it, because it's become a money-loser.

Harman won't have to worry about paying the pensions of Newsweek employees who have already retired; its former owner will be taking care of them.

Harman, ninety one, is an audio pioneer who cofounded harman/kardon, which created the world's first true high-fidelity receiver (the Festival D1000). Today the company manufactures audio systems for the home and for luxury automobile makers like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Land Rover. It is a division of Harman International, which owns several other audio equipment brands.

Harman appears to have a genuine appreciation of the publication he is buying, and an understanding that journalism is not about making money, as evidenced by his remarks to Newsweek employees today:

At a staff meeting Monday afternoon, Graham introduced Harman to the NEWSWEEK staff, saying, "Sidney is a quality man, a man who cares, and a man who will be trying with all his power to shape a successful future for NEWSWEEK."

When Harman took the stage, lowering the microphone stand, his first words to his new staff, were, "This microphone is the only thing I plan to cut down to size." He added, "I hope this will be the last day anyone hears me referred to as owner. It makes me cringe. We are all owners, and that starts with ownership of this legacy, and that is a big damn thing to own."

Harman praised the quality of the magazine and reiterated his goal to improve its financial position. "I would be delighted over a period of a few years to see NEWSWEEK get by on its own fuel. Break[ing] even is a serious accomplishment in this environment," he said. "I’m not here to make money, I’m here to make joy."

That is the proper focus. Media moguls who are obsessed with profits are the folks who are the best positioned to destroy their own properties. When a newspaper cuts back on content, for example, it alienates readers, giving subscribers a reason to cancel. Advertisers follow suit, spending their marketing dollars on other media, and the newspaper ends up making more cuts. It's a death spiral.

It remains to be seen whether there is a place in the new media landscape for the vaunted newsweekly. I think BusinessWeek is the best of those that are still in print. Now owned by Bloomberg, it maintains a rather serious focus and doesn't fill its pages with trivial silliness or celebrity worship.

I have nothing but contempt for Newsweek's bigger rival Time, which is increasingly irrelevant and useless. The fact that Mark Halperin is still on the payroll is enough to keep me away even from Time's website.

But I'll be checking up on Newsweek to see if the publication improves under new ownership. I really hope that it does. I'm one of the many people who will happily subscribe to a print publication if it's a quality product. The only caveat is that my standards are pretty high. I won't fork over money to read Villager drivel.