Beginning in May, U.S. news magazine Newsweek will undergo a major makeover, including a new design, changes in its content, targeting a wealthier audience and higher subscription fees, The New York Times reported Sunday.

Newsweek Chief Executive Tom Ascheim said this core segment constitutes 1.2 million subscribers who will pay around US$50 per year, compared to what all subscribers currently pay, which is less than $25 per year.

Newsweek's current mass audience is shrinking, and a "move toward not just analysis and commentary, but an opinionated, prescriptive or offbeat take on events" is hoped to boost readership, according to The New York Times. The news magazine also plans to bank more heavily on big-name writers like Christopher Hitchens, Fareed Zakaria and George Will. By making itself a niche magazine, Newsweek will be competing with other niche titles, such as The Economist, The Atlantic Monthly and the New Yorker.

The decision to revamp Newsweek has been welcomed by parent organisation the Washington Post Company, as well as industry analysts, as plummeting circulation and advertising have caused the magazine to become unprofitable

The magazine will also change its design, using heavier stock instead of thin paper, as a way to attract advertisers and readers, while also "cutting back on printing, distribution marketing and customer service," according to The New York Times. Newsweek also plans to attract more advertisers from the luxury goods sector.

Advertisers are less optimistic, as the advertising sector is cutting back across the board, and all changes are being viewed as risky.

Roberta Garfinkle, senior vice president and director for print strategy at TargetCast TCM, told The New York Times that given the difficult environment, it was a question of waiting and seeing how Newsweek's new plan will fare.

"I give anybody credit in this difficult environment for saying, 'What we're doing doesn't work anymore and we have to change our model,'" she said.