U.S. magazine Newsweek announced it will merge its website with that of news and commentary site The Daily Beast to form The Newsweek Daily Beast Co., AFP reported today. Both parties will have an equal stake in the newly established joint venture.

"In an admittedly challenging time, this merger provides the ideal combination of established journalism authority and bright, bristling website savvy," Sidney Harman, Newsweek's owner, said in a statement. The entity will be owned equally by Harman and Barry Diller's Internet company InterActiveCorp, which owns The Daily Beast. Directors will include Harman, as executive chairman, and Diller, as well as one director each to be appointed from either side, according to the press release.

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In August, the 77-year-old Newsweek was sold by its previous owner, the Washington Post Co., to Harman for US$1. Following the sale, he had problems finding an editor, a Market Watch report stated. The Daily Beast, meanwhile, owned by IAC, is just two years old.

Inquisitr noted that newsweeklies have been struggling throughout the last decade and that they might not have found a successful way out of the ad slump. There is a chance that the publication may move towards a predominantly online presence, according to Media Life Magazine.

Inquisitr noted that The Daily Beast had seen a drop in readership figures. Data from research outlet Compete revealed that the number of unique visitors plunged by 30 percent from 2.18 million in June to 1.55 million in September.

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"The metabolism of The Daily Beast will help power the resurgence of Newsweek and Newsweek amplifies the range of talent and audience The Daily Beast can reach," explained Tina Brown (right), The Daily Beast's founder and editor.

Brown previously worked as editor for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, and is credited with increasing the readership of the former, and "reversing the fortunes" of the latter, according to Portfolio.com.