WILL DEADLINE.COM, VARIETY OWNER BUY NEWSWEEK?

Barry Diller, who recently conceded, “I wish I hadn’t bought Newsweek — it was a mistake,” may have a buyer for the 80-year-old publication: Jay Penske, who also bought Deadline.com in 2009 and Variety in 2012, the New York Post reported today (Wednesday), citing unnamed sources. Penske declined to comment on the report. The newspaper also observed that “speculation is building” that Diller will also chuck TheDailyBeast.com, which is run by former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown, who also oversees Newsweek. In an earnings report on Tuesday IAC posted a 9 percent increase in profit to $106.7 million on revenue of $799.4 million, but the Post indicated that Newsweek did not contribute to any of the growth, claiming that the magazine, which is now digital only, “has burned through tens of millions of IAC money.”