As the over 4-million copies of the Monday issue of Newsweek hits the streets and the mailboxes this week, I bet not even the magazine editors themselves remember to pause and remember. It was this week 73 years ago when Newsweek decided to give Time some competition.
It was called Vol. I , No. 1, and it came out on February 17, 1933. The issue, all 32 pages of it, could be had for a dime, but you could get it discounted for a year's subscription at $4. You'll also notice it was called "News-Week", not Newsweek as we know it now. Thomas J.C. Martyn founded the magazine.
News-Week's Debut Issue
February 17, 1933
Although both Time and Newsweek have become virtually indistinguishable to the average reader these days (Newsweek is considered the more liberal), both had a different cover philosophy when they started. Originally, Time was always that red-border with the famous person inside (at the beginning, always a photo). Newsweek, in contrast, was about the week in news. On this first cover, for example, you'll see seven pictures, each one representing a different day of the week. Monday started off with a speech by Adolf Hitler before 15,000 in Berlin's Sports Palace where he declared "the German nation must be built up from the ground anew." On Wednesday, for example, Franklin Roosevelt's election in the electoral college was certified by Congress.
On page 5, under an article titled "A Blank Check For Roosevelt: Congress Proposes, Weighs, Then Delays Grant of Extraordinary Powers to the Next President", the magazine started with two quotes about presidential power. They were talking about the depression, but imagine them as being about the war on depression. Here they are:
"In this depression we are in a state of war. The only thing to do now is to lay aside statutes, and do what a Democracy must do when it fights. During the World War we wrapped the Constitution of The United States in a piece of paper, put it on a shelf and left it there until the war was over."
Alfred E. Smith in New York, Feburary 7, 1933.
"We are at war with forces that threaten to destroy our civilization. We are a democracy. While we reflect on its virtues, it has many shortcomings. One is that in time of stress it cannot re-adjust conditions as rapidly as necessary."
James M. Cox, at Miami, Feburary 11, 1933
What you won't find inside is a single word about how this is a new magazine. It pretty much just hits the ground running. The so-called "Front Page" -- page one -- has this headline: "Easing Burdens of Debut and Foreclosure." The first words Newsweek ever wrote are as follows:
The spectre of the auctioneer stalks throughout the land, haunting debtors in city, town and country. Next to life itself, a home is man's most prized possession. To save it, rugged individualism has grown gregarious, and harried citizens are banding against foreclosure. Some are violent, grimly taking the law into their own hands.
The last word in this issue, by the way, was an article about Islam, in Turkey, where Arabic had just been officially banned in favor of Turkish. These days there are riots in the streets about cartoons published in Denmark. I don't know what that means, except that Islam in the news isn't something that's only been around since 2001.
Finally, one of the most impressive things of note about this magazine is the paper stock it's printed on. This copy I have is 73 years old but the paper is white and sturdy and better made to withstand the ravages of Time (bad pun, sorry) than my issue from last month.
I always liked Newsweek. They were the first news magazine to put the Beatles on their cover. That's gotta tell you something. Happy birthday!
