Latest Version of Newsweek Channels Leftists Comparing Pope Francis to Che Guevara

The latest version of Newsweek sounds like it’s going to be even more liberal than the The Daily Beast version. The group hoping to re-launch the print edition has an article on their website called “Is Pope Francis a Socialist?”

Their answer is no, but they’re so impressed with the new pope that they’re channeling the idea that somehow pope photos will replace Che Guevara as a revolutionary icon:

The left-leaning Guardian, which routinely heaped opprobrium on the Vatican for its mishandling of the pedophile priests scandal, hails Francis as the liberals’ new poster boy. Literally: Tomorrow’s undergraduates, predicts Jonathan Freedland, will adorn their rooms with posters of Francis instead of Che Guevara. And Time just named him their Person of the Year.

That’s odd — no, not Newsweek paying tribute to Time magazine. The Che reference is odd because the article’s author, Cristina Odone, doesn’t really believe Francis is a Marxist radical, or even a socialist:

For many conservative Americans, who believe socialism begins with street lighting, the question of whether the pope is a socialist is not moot. Before they join in the songs of praise for the pope they need to know which side the pope is on.

Of course, the notion that Pope Francis is a true socialist is absurd. Socialists believe in the state taking control of the commanding heights of the economy. They believe the free market should be substituted by a command economy in which goods are produced according to need and prices are fixed to ensure fairness.

Nothing Pope Francis has said or done would suggest for a moment that he is a dangerous radical or even that he secretly harbors socialist thoughts.

Then there’s a passage that really suggests there’s a violent dictatorship running Vatican City:

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Because they operate behind the scenes, Vatican bureaucrats can all too easily get away with secrecy – and crimes. Scandals involving clerics’ visits to gay brothels and money laundering by the Vatican Bank have sealed the curia’s reputation as Da Vinci Code baddies.

“They have a lot at stake in things continuing as they are,” claims one Vatican watcher, referring to conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Pope John Paul I in 1978 after only 33 days. “They will see off anyone, even a pope, if they suspect opposition.”

If Pope Francis gets bumped off by wicked cardinals, you heard it first in the new Newsweek.

NewsBusters blogs

Latest Version of Newsweek Channels Leftists Comparing Pope Francis to Che Guevara

Newsweek sold to all-digital news publisher IBT Media

By Agence France-Presse
Sunday, August 4, 2013 3:35 EDT

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The once-influential US publication Newsweek is being sold to the all-digital news publisher IBT Media, the company said.




Terms of the deal were not disclosed as the transaction is expected to close “in the coming days,” the IBT statement read.




IBT Media is acquiring Newsweek and the publication’s online operations from IAC/InterActiveCorp. The purchase does not include The Daily Beast, also owned by IAC.




“We believe in the Newsweek brand and look forward to growing it, fully transformed to the digital age,” said Etienne Uzac, co-founder and chief executive officer of IBT Media.




Launched by a former Time magazine reporter in 1933, Newsweek reached a print circulation of three million by the early 1990s and published regional editions around the world.




However the magazine, like other print publications, struggled to cope with the flood of instant and often free news in the digital world and saw its revenue steadily decline.




In 2010 California billionaire Sidney Harman bought Newsweek from The Washington Post Group for a symbolic $ 1, and took over $ 40 million in liabilities. Newsweek then merged with The Daily Beast, owned by IAC.




The magazine ended its weekly print edition in December 2012, and IAC announced in May that it would sell Newsweek to concentrate on The Daily Beast.




IBT Media, founded in 2006, operates online news sites that include International Business Times, Medical Daily, Latin Times and iDigitalTimes. They say they have more than 30 million unique visitors to those sites each month.




“We respect the brand’s long history of delivering high-quality, impactful journalism and believe this aligns well with IBT Media’s culture and mission,” Uzac said.




IBT Media co-founder and chief content officer Johnathan Davis said that the Newsweek brand “is strong around the world and we believe there is significant potential to leverage that as well as enhance the editorial offering and continue to modernize the operations and approach.”






The Raw Story



Newsweek sold to all-digital news publisher IBT Media