Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence. Newsweek is published in four English language editions and 12 global editions written in the language of the circulation region.

Since 2008, Newsweek has undergone a series of internal and external contractions designed to shift the magazine's focus and audience while shoring up the title's finances. Instead, losses at the newsweekly accelerated: revenue dropped 38 percent from 2007 to 2009. The revenue freefall prompted an August 2010 sale by owner The Washington Post Company to 92-year-old audio pioneer Sidney Harman—reportedly for a purchase price of $1.00 and an assumption of the magazine's liabilities. Editor Jon Meacham departed from the magazine upon completion of the sale.

In November 2010 Newsweek merged with the news and opinion website The Daily Beast after extensive negotiations between the proprietors of the respective publications. Tina Brown, The Daily Beast's editor-in-chief was expected to serve as the editor of both publications. Newsweek is jointly owned by the estate of the late Harman and IAC.

Tina Brown, Lady Evans, CBE (born Christina Hambley Brown; November 21, 1953), is a journalist, magazine editor, columnist, talk-show host and author of The Diana Chronicles, a biography of Diana, Princess of Wales. Born a British citizen, she took United States citizenship in 2005 after emigrating in 1984 to edit Vanity Fair. Having been editor-in-chief of Tatler magazine at only 25 years of age, she rose to prominence in the American media industry as the editor of Vanity Fair from 1984 to 1992 and of The New Yorker from 1992 to 1998. In 2000 she was appointed a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for her services to overseas journalism, and in 2007 was inducted into the Magazine Editors' Hall of Fame. As an editor, she has also been honored with four George Polk Awards, five Overseas Press Club awards, and ten National Magazine Awards. In October 2008 she partnered with Barry Diller, chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp to found and edit The Daily Beast. Two years later, in November 2010, The Daily Beast announced that it will merge with the American weekly news magazine Newsweek in a joint venture to form The Newsweek Daily Beast Company. Brown will serve as Editor-in-Chief of both publications.

William "Bill" Maher, Jr. ( /ˈmɑːr/; born January 20, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author, and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and later on ABC.

Maher is known for his political satire and sociopolitical commentary, which targets a wide swath of topics including religion, politics, bureaucracies of many kinds, political correctness, the mass media, greed among people and persons in positions of high political and social power, and the lack of intellectual curiosity in the electorate. He supports the legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage, and serves on the board of PETA. He is also a critic of religion and is an advisory board member of Project Reason, a foundation to promote scientific knowledge and secular values within society. In 2005, Maher ranked at number 38 on Comedy Central's 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time. Bill Maher received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star on September 14, 2010.

Cody Lundin is the founder, director, and lead instructor of the Aboriginal Living Skills School, LLC in Prescott, Arizona. ALSS was created by Lundin in 1991. Lundin teaches primitive living skills, modern outdoor survival skills, urban preparedness, and homesteading. He is the author of two best-selling books on modern outdoor survival skills and urban preparedness. He is currently a co-star of the Discovery Channel series Dual Survival. His field approach is based on more than two decades of back country experience with and without students in desert and mountain terrain.

Lundin is an internationally known professional survival instructor with more than 20 years of hands-on teaching experience. He has trained private, corporate, and governmental agencies, thousands of students, and dozens of national and international media sources in outdoor and urban preparedness skills. He has consulted for and been featured by dozens of media outlets including The Today Show, National Geographic Television, Esquire magazine, the New York Times, USA Today, Dateline NBC, Fox News, the Donny and Marie Show, the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS), Playboy magazine, Maxim magazine, FHM magazine, Lifetime television, The Atlantic magazine, The History Channel, Popular Mechanics magazine, TV Guide, The Travel Channel, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Field and Stream magazine, the Christian Science Monitor and many others. In 1999, Lundin was the third person in history to appear on the cover of Backpacker magazine that featured a story about his survival school and philosophies.

James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor. His first prominent role was a lead part on the short-lived cult hit television program Freaks and Geeks; he later achieved recognition for playing the titular character in the TV biographical film James Dean (2001), for which he was awarded a Golden Globe Award. He achieved international fame with his portrayals of Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.

Franco has won or been nominated for a number of awards. He has done both dramatic and comedic work in projects and has appeared in an eclectic range of films since the 2000s, ranging from period to contemporary pieces, and from major Hollywood productions to less publicized indie films, as well as fantasy films to biopics and soap operas. Other notable films include Pineapple Express, a 2008 stoner comedy that earned him his second Golden Globes nomination; the 2008 Harvey Milk-biopic Milk; and Danny Boyle's 2010 drama film 127 Hours, about real-life mountain climber Aron Ralston's struggle to free his hand from a boulder. His performance in 127 Hours earned him nominations for many high-profile awards, including the Academy Awards, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2011, he starred opposite Andy Serkis in Rupert Wyatt's successful science fiction film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise. Since 2009, he has played a recurring role in the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital.