Newsweek Might Get Evicted From Their Offices

It has been a rough period of time for Newsweek. Their offices got raided by cops over financial crime investigations, morale is at an all-time low and there have been several questionable firings. It’s hard to believe that they are still operating and putting out content.

On top of these issues, they’re apparently also having problems paying their rent.

The Daily Beast:

Looming investigations into Newsweek Media Group’s finances have demoralized the legacy magazine’s staff and left a cloud of doubt over the company’s long-term future. But now the company faces another more immediate issue: Whether it can stay in its New York headquarters.

Guardian Life Insurance, the sub-landlord for the company’s downtown Manhattan office, informed International Business Times Inc. in late November that it owed several hundred thousand dollars representing “unpaid, delinquent rent and additional rent.”

According an affidavit filed in New York County court in mid February, Guardian claims IBT currently owes the landlord $303,466 in rent.

The Daily Beast reached out to Newsweek prior to the publication of this story. After its publication, Newsweek provided comment: “Newsweek Media Group’s landlord discontinued all proceedings and withdrew all notices against the company. Newsweek Media Group is up to date on all rental payments.” When asked to provide documentation or clarification proving that, the spokesperson declined.

The saga began in November, when Guardian filed several notices demanding IBT pay its rent and utilities or else the tenancy would be “terminated in accordance with your lease.” By December 4, a notice of petition filed by Guardian said the online newspaper’s debt to its landlord ballooned to $452,000 plus interest.

The documents showed that the company did not pay rent promptly for both November and December 2017 for its fifth- and partial sixth-floor spaces at 7 Hanover Square, resulting in $138,530 in unpaid rent alone.

It’s hard to see Newsweek operating much longer. The organization’s only asset is the old media brand they publish their content under. But the days of them being a respected news organization have been over for a long time. They’ve devolved into a low tier blog that produces mindless clickbait garbage. This is not surprising when you consider that they pay their writers next to nothing in a city that has one of the highest costs of living in the country.

Hopefully Newsweek fades into the dustbin of history. Much of the old guard media has not adapted to the new media landscape and Newsweek is just one of many. These sites are putting up paywalls and resorting to weird gimmicks just to keep the lights on. It’s a totally ridiculous situation.