• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, November 2, 2007

Just a few days after shuffling its top management, and two weeks after introducing its new design, Newsweek is shedding 500,000 copies from its rate base, bringing guaranteed paid circulation down to 2.6 million. The move mirrors a similar move by competitor Time magazine, which cut its rate base by 750,000 earlier this year. In reducing guaranteed paid circulation, both magazines are acknowledging the slump in newsstand sales and subscriptions that has bedeviled the newsweekly category in recent years.

Earlier this week, Newsweek announced that Rick Smith is leaving the magazine after 37 years, vacating both his editor in chief and CEO roles. Smith had been editor in chief for 24 years, and CEO for 16. Thomas Ascheim--previously general manager of Nickelodeon, owned by Viacom--moved into the CEO spot. Ann McDaniel, an executive vice president at the Washington Post Company, was named to the new role of managing director at Newsweek, and publisher Greg Osberg was named president of Newsweek--replacing Harold Shain, who is moving to sister publication Budget Travel as president and CEO.

To revitalize the magazine and spur reader interest, Newsweek recently introduced a major redesign, beginning with its Oct. 22 issue. The magazine got a new look, including less visual clutter, longer articles, fewer images and clearer headings. The redesign represents an attempt to scale up the magazine's intellectual content, and also introduces three new columns on food, parenting and technology.

In the first three quarters of 2007, Newsweek's ad pages fell 8.5% and rate-card revenue dropped 3.8%, compared to the same period in 2006, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. In the first half of 2007, newsstand sales fell 9.3% to 100,092, per the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Finally, according to data from Mediamark Research and Intelligence (formerly Mediamark Research Inc.), Newsweek's total audience has declined in recent years, from 21.3 million in spring 2002 to 18.4 million in spring 2007.

Paste Says Pay What You Want

Taking a page from Radiohead, which is allowing fans to pay what they want for its new album, Paste is letting subscribers judge what they think the magazine is worth and choose their own subscription price, with a minimum subscription cost of $1. In addition to netting new subscribers, the magazine hopes the stunt will help retain old ones, who are also invited to pay what they like to renew their subscriptions. The same promotion applies to gift subscriptions. In an interesting twist, devoted fans who pay more than the $19.95 suggested subscription costs will be thanked in print.

Discover> Ups Patrice Adcroft

Discover Magazine is getting a new editorial director, with the promotion of Patrice Adcroft from special projects editor. Adcroft will have oversight of the monthly science title's editorial content across print and digital platforms. In early October, Bob Guccione, Jr. stepped down as the chief executive officer of Discover Media, handing over the reins to Henry Donahue--previously the chief financial officer. Guccione is now chairman of the company.

Emmis Hires Martin J. Smith as EIC, Orange Coast

Martin J. Smith has been named editor in chief of Orange Coast Magazine, effective November 19th, according to owner Emmis Publishing LLC, which announced the news earlier this week. Currently Smith serves as the senior editor of the Los Angeles Times Magazine. Previously he served as a staff writer and columnist for the Orange County Register, and was also the former editor of Orange Coast magazine 1994-1998. The magazine was published by Emmis Publishing in July of this year.