Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine founded in 1933, and was widely distributed through the 20th century, with many notable editors-in-chief. In 1961 the magazine was acquired by The Washington Post Company and remained under its ownership until 2010. Between 2008 and 2012, Newsweek experienced financial difficulties, leading to the cessation of print publication and a transition to an all-digital format at the end of 2012. It was relaunched (print and digital) in 2014 under the ownership of IBT Media, which also owns the International Business Times.

Revenue declines prompted an August 2010 sale by The Washington Post Company to audio pioneer Sidney Harman—for a purchase price of one dollar and an assumption of the magazine's liabilities. Later that year, Newsweek merged with the news and opinion website The Daily Beast, forming The Newsweek Daily Beast Company. Newsweek was jointly owned by the estate of Harman and the diversified American media and Internet company IAC. In 2013, a company named IBT Media announced it had acquired Newsweek from IAC; the acquisition included the Newsweek brand and its online publication, but did not include The Daily Beast. IBT Media rebranded itself as Newsweek Media Group. In 2018, one day before the District Attorney of Manhattan announced the indictment of Etienne Uzac, the co-owner of IBT Media, the company announced it would split into two companies, Newsweek and IBT Media. Since then, Newsweek has been co-owned by Johnathan Davis, who also shares ownership with Uzac of IBT Media, and Dev Pragad, who is also the CEO.