STAFF NEWS & ANALYSIS
Self-Delusion of Barry Diller?
By Staff News & Analysis - April 30, 2013

Newsweek/Daily Beast Owner: 'I Wish I Hadn't Bought Newsweek, It Was a Mistake' … The Newsweek/Daily Beast owner, Barry Diller, shared his regrets today on Bloomberg TV: "There are some magazines that have no competition essentially in their field, luxury magazines," the Washington Free Beacon reports Diller said. "Advertisers must advertise in them. But for a news magazine … it was not possible to print it any longer. So we said we will offer a digital product. We have a very, very solid newsroom, and we'll see. I don't have great expectations. I wish I hadn't bought Newsweek. It was a mistake. – The Weekly Standard Blog

Dominant Social Theme: What a surprise. The Internet has trumped Newsweek. Who would have thought?

Free-Market Analysis: Barry Diller has buyer's remorse, as we can see from this video. He comes across as cogent and even eloquent about the changes in the news media … and yet one wonders why he purchased a failing magazine.

Newsweek was not worth a dime when Diller purchased it and the reasons were obvious. The times had changed. Newsweek was no longer a factor in the US conversation because it provided easily analyzed dominant social themes and was an obvious leftist and globalist mouthpiece.

In fact, Diller's protestations ring hollow. Here is a print savvy individual who has spent a career working in US media. He didn't realize the great media shift that had taken place?

He didn't understand that he had purchased a failing product? He didn't realize that even the genius of his editor, Tina Brown, would not be able to resuscitate it?

Diller is being disingenuous, in our humble opinion. There are plenty of successful Websites providing news – even alternative news – that are doing very well, even as Newsweek struggled and ultimately folded its print edition.

The problem, as we have long pointed out, is one of content – and Diller doesn't want to grapple with this issue. It is a form of self-delusion.

It gives rise to larger questions, as well. Do media moguls like Diller NOT realize how the conversation has changed and the kind of content they now need to provide?

One can literally watch these people writhe as they try everything to avoid grappling with the central issue of content.

Murdoch, Diller's former boss, has been especially active in this regard, using the trappings of technology to present 20th century content. He's put news on iPhones and purchased social media networks. It hasn't worked.

Now Diller has found out the same thing. But shouldn't he have already figured it out a few years ago when he purchased Newsweek?

After Thoughts

Do these people really not understand? Check out the video and see for yourself.

You can see the video here – http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/newsweekdaily-beast-owner-i-wish-i-hadn-t-bought-newsweek-it-was-mistake_719378.html

Posted in STAFF NEWS & ANALYSIS
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