The exodus of Newsweek staffers in the wake of the magazine’s sale to 91-year-old audio equipment magnate Sidney Harman is becoming an epidemic.
First, editor Jon Meacham announced he would leave after a replacement is named. Editor-at-large Evan Thomas quickly followed suit. Then Fareed Zakaria, the magazine’s international editor and among a shortlist of candidates to replace Meacham, announced last week that he is jumping to rival Time. (Walter Isaacson, friend of Harman and former editor of Time, said he’s not interested in Meacham’s slot, either.)
Now it appears Mark Miller, Newsweek’s longtime editorial director, is on his way out, too. Miller’s departure was first reported by WWD.
A spokeperson for Newsweek would not comment on Miller's employment status or the aforementioned report — which usually means it’s true.
Miller has been with Newsweek more or less since 1985. (He spent two-and-a-half years as assistant managing editor at the Dallas Morning News and a year as a story editor at ABC News’ “Primetime Live.”) Miller was lauded for his coverage of the O.J. Simpson murder trial.
At this point, if the sale goes through as planned, Harman will own a magazine — with no staffers to run it.