Tina Brown, editor of Newsweek and The Daily Beast, told CBS in an interview on Friday that the decision to close Newsweek’s print edition was inevitable in the digital age.
Speaking to Charlie Rose and Gayle King, Brown said, "The fact is that The Daily Beast is enormously successful… There was always a feeling and a knowledge we would be a digital company."
Also read: Newsweek Ends Print Edition After 80 Years
On Thursday, Brown announced that the 80-year-old magazine would cease print publication at the end of this year and transition to a digital-only magazine called Newsweek Global. On CBS she said this would save $43 million in printing and circulation costs.
“Two years ago this wouldn’t have been the absolute inevitable outcome this fast," she said. "We always knew that eventually we’d be a digital company, but the question was when.
"Advertisers and marketers (were) urging us to do this. It is the right direction,” she added. “It may take a minute to get it right – more than a minute. But it’s the right direction to embrace the future.”
The full interview can be seen here.