Rick Smith is stepping down after 24 years as editor in chief of Newsweek. He's also relinquishing his CEO title, which he's held for 16 years, but will hang onto his chairman post.

Smith's step back sets off a chain reaction of other moves. Thomas E. Ascheim, general manager of Nickelodeon, is coming in as CEO. President Harold Shain is moving over to head up sister title Budget Travel, and publisher Greg Osberg is rising into his spot.

Here's the memo.

STAFF MEMO:

29 October 2007

To: The Staff

From: Rick Smith

It has been an extraordinary honor to serve Newsweek as Editor-in-Chief for almost 24 years and CEO for the past sixteen. I simply can't imagine a better career than working with Kay and Don Graham and giving my all for a magazine, a company and a group of people I love and respect so much. As I told Don last January, however, after 37 years at Newsweek the time has come to loosen up my track shoes just a bit. Effective the first of the year, I'll give up most of my many titles and step back into the singular role of Chairman. That transition will allow me to devote more time to a lengthening agenda of corporate and non-profit board work, but also to remain actively engaged at the magazine as well. Although I'll be moving down the hall from the corner office, I'll continue to offer counsel on strategy to Jon, Fareed and others on the editorial side and do the same with my business colleagues. I'll also continue to nurture important business relationships at home and abroad and conduct the leadership interviews for the exciting Kaplan Newsweek MBA program. It's still a pretty full plate, but I'm eager to dig in.

The real news in this announcement is that Tom Ascheim will become Newsweek's new Chief Executive Officer. Tom comes to us from Viacom, where he established a superb track record of building consumer brands, managing interactive start-ups and delivering strong results in both content and commercial terms. He's currently General Manager of Nickelodeon Television, the most-watched network in all of cable television, and he formerly served as the head of Nick's Digital Television Networks, where he developed and led Noggin and a host of other television and online extensions for elementary and teen audiences. I have had the pleasure of spending time with Tom, and while he doesn't have a traditional magazine resume, he's an immensely talented, broad-gauge executive whose experience in building brands and leveraging traditional media assets on the Web will serve Newsweek extremely well. More important, his obvious intelligence, easy laugh, collegial style and thirst for new ideas will, I am sure, quickly earn him the respect and friendship of people throughout the magazine.

Jon and Tom will report to our friend Ann McDaniel. In addition to her duties as a Vice President of the Washington Post Company, Ann will also assume the new post of Managing Director of Newsweek, Inc. Many of you may have noticed that Ann has been spending more time in New York in the last few months, and although she'll continue to be based in Washington, we'll be happily seeing more of her in the future. Given her recent business side experience and her long and distinguished career as a reporter and editor at the magazine, she's more than ready to take on her new role as Newsweek's supervisor and advocate in the corporate office.

I'm also pleased to announce that my good friends and key business side allies Harold Shain and Greg Osberg will continue to play critical roles in Newsweek's future.

On January 1st, Harold will bring his disciplined, thoughtful management skills to the new role of President and CEO of Budget Travel. Under his leadership, BT has already become a good business. It has the potential to be a great one. The magazine has gone from a circulation of 250,000 when we acquired it to a new rate-base of 625,000 next year. We've launched books, special issues, TV segments and an impressive Web offering, and there's more to come. Harold will continue to offer his guidance to other Newsweek ventures, particularly Newsweek International, but his primary focus in the years ahead will be to drive further growth across the entire Budget Travel brand.

Also on the first of the year, Greg will become President of Newsweek. Greg has been a superb sales and marketing executive for years, and in the last two, he has proved to be equally successful in the world of the Web. Working with the entire Web team, Greg has been responsible for guiding the relationship with MSNBC.com and launching the all-new Newsweek.com. Going forward, Greg will be Tom's point man in driving the ad pages, the page views, the sales and marketing programs and, ultimately, the advertising revenues that are so critical to our future.

It is no secret that Newsweek is operating in a challenging business environment. The advertising market for all general interest magazines is difficult, and postal, benefit and other costs continue to rise. But we have met similar challenges in the past, and we will again. As one of the world's pre-eminent news and information brands, Newsweek continues to play a vital role in the lives of our readers and the life of the global community. Indeed, I am immensely proud that thanks to our growing list of foreign-language editions and our rapidly increasing presence on the Web, Newsweek journalism is today reaching a far greater audience than at any time in its history.

Newsweek's greatest strength is, of course, the quality of our people. As I take this small step back, I am reminded of the extraordinary faith that Kay, Don and former Post Company President Dick Simmons demonstrated in allowing me to play the unique role of leading the editorial and business operations of the company for so many years. On the editorial side, Jon, Fareed and the entire team, past and present, have inspired me every day with their commitment, their creativity, their integrity and their friendship. On the business side, Harold, along with Greg, CFO Paul Dworkis and many others, became great friends and gave me the B-school education I never had. All of these good people, and many more, have made coming to work each day a pleasure and will continue to do so.

Looking ahead, I am confident that Newsweek is in very good hands. In Ann and Tom Aschiem, we have a new generation of leaders who represent the values and intelligence that have made Newsweek what it is today. I look forward to working with them--and with all of you--to continue to build on the magazine's proud tradition.

^{Photograph of Rick Smith by Patrick McMullan/PatrickMcMullan.com}