Newsweek is a premier news magazine and website that has delivered high-quality journalism to readers around the globe for more than 90 years.
Founded in New York in 1933, Newsweek presents the latest news, in-depth analysis and ideas about international issues, technology, business, culture and politics. In addition to its online and mobile presence, Newsweek publishes weekly English print editions in the United States, Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia as well as editions in Japanese, Korean, Polish, Serbian and Spanish.
The global, digital news organization reaches 100 million people each month with news, opinion, images, graphics and video and is one of the world's best recognized and respected news brands. At least one in five Americans visits Newsweek.com every month.
Newsweek's biggest source of revenue is advertising, with subscriptions increasingly important. Smaller sources of income include affiliate revenue, sponsored content - which is always clearly identified as such - and syndication to Apple News, Microsoft News, Google News and others.
Newsweek was owned by the Washington Post Company between 1961 and 2010, when it was sold to audio tycoon and philanthropist Sidney Harman.
In 2011, Newsweek merged with The Daily Beast, owned by diversified internet company IAC. At the end of 2012, Newsweek ceased publishing its iconic print edition in the United States for over a year as it focused on its digital products.
IAC sold Newsweek in 2013 to IBT Media, a company with ties to the Rev. David Jang, leader of the World Olivet Assembly and founder of Olivet University.
Newsweek journalists report news about their owners with the same vigilance they apply to anyone else. In 2017, when IBT Media's owners came under investigation for fraud by the Manhattan District Attorney and investigators raided Newsweek's newsroom in January 2018, the newsroom covered the case and Newsweek's owners fired several journalists including the editor-in-chief, another editor and a reporter. Current Global Editor-in-Chief Nancy Cooper agreed to stay only after receiving guarantees of total editorial independence.
When criminal charges were brought against one of IBT Media's principals, Olivet and others in 2018, Chief Executive Officer Dev Pragad purchased a 50 percent stake in Newsweek. The other IBT Media principal, Johnathan Davis, retained his half of the company and became a silent partner, no longer involved in the management of Newsweek.
No charges were brought against Newsweek as a result of the Manhattan fraud and money laundering probe. Olivet, along with several of the other defendants, pleaded guilty to felonies.
Pragad, Newsweek's CEO and president, announced in 2022 that he had left Olivet and wanted to protect the company from "interference" by Olivet members. Davis followed suit in 2023. Their departures triggered a series of lawsuits, some of which involve Newsweek and are making their way through the courts.
The Newsweek newsroom has continued to publish journalism, including work documenting news about IBT Media, World Olivet Assembly, and Olivet University. The editorial team operates with total independence and a rigid divide is maintained between editorial and management/ownership.
For further information on how Newsweek covers its owners transparently, please read this account from former Global Editor in Chief Nancy Cooper. This is where you can find Newsweek's latest coverage of matters related to Olivet.
I. Newsweek — Pre-IBT Ownership History
1933
News-Week is founded by Thomas J.C. Martyn, a former foreign news editor for Time, with financial backing from Ward Cheney, John Hay Whitney, and Paul Mellon, among others.
August 2010
The Washington Post Company sells Newsweek to Sidney Harman, founder of Harman Kardon, for the symbolic price of $1 plus assumption of liabilities.
November 2010
Newsweek merges with IAC's The Daily Beast, forming The Newsweek/Daily Beast Company under editor-in-chief Tina Brown.
December 31, 2012
Newsweek publishes its final print edition and transitions to an all-digital format.
April 2013
IAC Chairman Barry Diller publicly states he regrets the Newsweek acquisition, calling it a mistake and a "fool's errand," and signals intent to sell.
II. IBT Media Acquires Newsweek (2013)
August 3, 2013
IBT Media — founded in 2006 by Etienne Uzac and Jonathan Davis as publisher of the International Business Times — announces the acquisition of Newsweek from IAC. The transaction includes the Newsweek brand and its online publication.
2017
IBT Media rebrands as Newsweek Media Group.
III. Criminal Investigation & 2018 Corporate Restructuring
Late 2016
The Manhattan District Attorney's office opens a criminal investigation into IBT Media and its co-founder Etienne Uzac, examining company finances and IBT's relationship with Olivet University, an evangelical Christian institution.
January 2018
Manhattan DA investigators raid IBT Media's Manhattan offices, seizing eighteen computer servers. Co-owner and Chairman Etienne Uzac and his wife Marion Kim (who served as Finance Director) resign from their roles on February 1, 2018.
September 13, 2018
IBT Media (then Newsweek Media Group) executes a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement (MIPA) with NW Media Holdings Corp., a newly formed company owned 50% by Dev Pragad and 50% by Jonathan Davis. Under the MIPA, IBT agrees to transfer its membership interest in Newsweek LLC to NW Media for a stated purchase price of $5,000, with 20 quarterly installment payments of $81,045.95 totaling $1.5 million also required under Section 5(f). The MIPA includes a merger clause and a provision in which IBT expressly disclaims any reversionary or other rights to reacquire Newsweek.
September 2018 (concurrent)
Newsweek Media Group publicly announces its split into two standalone companies: Newsweek (owned by Davis and Pragad, with Pragad as CEO) and IBT Media (owned by Davis and Uzac, with Davis as CEO). Neither Davis nor Uzac retain operational roles at Newsweek.
October 10, 2018
The Manhattan DA unseals a 10-count indictment against IBT Media, Etienne Uzac, Christian Media Corporation (and its CEO William Anderson), and computer company Oikos Networks. The charges — including scheme to defraud, conspiracy, falsifying business records, and money laundering — allege a scheme between March 2015 and October 2016 to fraudulently obtain financing from equipment lenders and divert the funds, using a fictitious auditor named "Karen Smith LLP." The indictment alleges IBT Media reaped more than $8.6 million from the scheme. Uzac and Anderson are arraigned the following day and plead not guilty.
February 14, 2020
Etienne Uzac pleads guilty to money laundering in the second degree and scheme to defraud in the first degree. He is sentenced to probation and community service, with no jail time. William Anderson, former CEO of Christian Media Corporation, pleads guilty to the same charges.
IV. Litigation History
A. IBT Media Inc. v. Pragad & NW Media Holdings Corp. NY Supreme Court | Index No. 652277/2022
June 30, 2022 — Complaint Filed
IBT Media Inc. files suit in New York State Supreme Court, New York County, before Justice Melissa A. Crane. The complaint asserts that the MIPA is not valid and the Newsweek sale to NW Media Holding Corp. is a sham.
December 19, 2022 — Decision and Order (Trial Court) [LINK TO DECISION]
Justice Crane dismisses IBT’s claims and finds that the sale of Newsweek is valid.
October 19, 2023 — Appellate Division Decision [LINK TO DECISION]
The 1st Department Appellate Division unanimously affirms the trial court's dismissal in all respects, with one modification: the court declares affirmatively that the MIPA is enforceable.
B. NW Media Holdings Corp. et al. v. IBT Media Inc. et al. NY Supreme Court | Index No. 652344/2022
October 30, 2023 — Amended Complaint Filed
NW Media Holdings and the Newsweek entities file an Amended Complaint (NYSCEF Doc. No. 205) The amended pleading asserts two counts: (i) contractual indemnification under the MIPA for millions of dollars of payments that Newsweek made on IBT’s behalf; and (ii) in the alternative, unjust enrichment for the payments made.
June 13, 2025 — Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Filed
Plaintiffs move for partial summary judgment as to liability on their indemnification and unjust enrichment claims. Defendants file a cross-motion.
August 26, 2025 — Partial Summary Judgment Granted; Cross-Motion Denied [LINK TO DECISION]
Justice Crane grants plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment as to liability (i.e., IBT owes money to Newsweek under the MIPA) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 389) and denies defendants' cross-motion. The court sets a damages hearing for September 29, 2025. Key holdings:
June 26, 2026 — Damages Award [LINK TO DECISION]
The Court entered judgment against IBT Media Inc. in the principal amount of $6,507,578.76, together with more than $4 million in statutory prejudgment interest from the dates of payment, plus costs and disbursements. The full amount of damages is just shy of $11 million as of the date of the decision.
C. IBT Media, Inc. v. Pragad et al. NY Supreme Court | Index No. 62346/2025
April 30, 2025 — Complaint Filed
IBT Media files a new suit in New York State Supreme Court against Dev Pragad and other Newsweek executives for breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent misrepresentation, and negligent misrepresentation.
December 11, 2025 — Dismissed [LINK TO DECISION]
The State Supreme Court dismisses the claims against Pragad and several of the other named executives on several grounds, including that these claims were already brought (or should have been brought) and decided in IBT’s 2022 litigation.
D. Uzac v. Pragad ("Uzac v. Pragad") S.D.N.Y. | Case No. 1:25-cv-03573 (JLR) and Wong v. Pragad NY Supreme Court, Westchester County | Index No. 62345/2025 (The “Oral Joint Venture” Cases)
April 29, 2025 — Complaint Filed (JVA I)
Six investors and founding members of the alleged oral joint venture group — Winnie Wong, Nancy Lee, Sylvia Lee, Younseok Choi, James Yang, and Moonsoo Jung — file suit in Westchester County Supreme Court against Dev Pragad, asserting breach of their alleged oral agreement and seeking specific performance or rescission of that agreement.
April 29, 2025 — Complaint Filed (JVA II)
Seven members of alleged oral joint venture group — Etienne Uzac, David Enwright, William Dove, Myong Sop Shim, Jaewon Kim, Dong-Chan Kim, and James Kong — file suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Dev Pragad for breach of contract and rescission of their alleged oral joint venture agreement (JVA II).
October 8, 2025 — Case Stayed
The Westchester State Supreme Court stays JVA II due to substantial overlap with the parallel federal action (JVA I).
June 30, 2025 — Motion to Dismiss of JVA I
Pragad moves to dismiss the original complaint.
March 25, 2026 — Dismissal Granted of JVA I [LINK TO DECISION]
U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon grants Pragad's motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(7) for failure to join indispensable parties, i.e., the other oral joint venturers in the Westchester case. If Plaintiffs had joined those parties, it would have destroyed diversity jurisdiction, which are the only basis for which a federal court could have heard those claims.
April 30, 2026 — JVA II Voluntarily Discontinued [LINK TO DECISION]
Plaintiffs file a Notice of Discontinuance pursuant to CPLR �� 3217(a)(1), voluntarily withdrawing the action against Pragad without prejudice and without costs to any party.