Free online Access to Historic Issues of Newsweek Magazine (1933-2008)
Browse, read online, or download scanned back issues and indexes of Newsweek magazine from its founding in 1933 to 2008. This page organizes reliable archival sources for researchers, educators, students, and general readers seeking journalism as it was originally published.
Table of contents
How to Use This Page
- Use the annual links to read online or download full issues of Time magazine
- Consult the index volumes to locate articles by date, subject, or name
- Note that the second, more complete set of issues was scanned from microfilmed copies
Newsweek Magazine
The first issue of Newsweek Magazine was published in February 1933, and it became one of the most popular weekly news magazines in the U.S. for American and World news for much of the 20th century. It was owned by the Washington Post newspaper from 1961 to 2010.
About the Scans and Publication Dates
Publication Dates in Internet Archive
When you open a multi-month volume of Newsweek in PDF format, the metadata displayed at the bottom of the Internet Archive viewer may list the publication date as 1933. That date is incorrect.
For accurate publication dates, refer to:
- The title page of the bound volume
- The cover page of each individual monthly issue
These pages display the correct year and month of publication.
Quality of Scanned Pages
Two scan sets are available in Internet Archive, each prepared at different times and with varying image quality. The photographic images in Set 2 appear darker than in the first set, although the text reproduction remains strong and readable. You may improve brightness by using the “Visual Adjustments” option in the Internet Archive viewer:
- Open the PDF.
- Click the three-dot menu near the top left edge of the screen.
- Select Visual Adjustments and adjust brightness as needed.
Indexes of Articles
In Set 2, on the right side of the page, are annual indexes for every year from 1933 to 1969.
Availability of Volumes
- In Set 1, there are blank spaces for volumes that could not be found. Missing volumes from 1933 to 1950 can be found in Set 2. Set 2 terminates after 1950.
- Issues in Set 2 can be downloaded.
Set 1 – Scans of Newsweek Magazine
| 1930s | ||||||
| 1933 | ||||||
| 1934 | ||||||
| 1935 | ||||||
| 1936 | Jan-Mar | Apr-Jun | Jul-Sep | Oct-Dec | ||
| 1937 | Jan-Mar | Apr-Jun | Jul-Sep | Oct-Dec | ||
| 1938 | Jan-Mar | Apr-Jun | Jul-Sep | Oct-Dec | ||
| 1939 | Jan-Mar | Apr-Jun | Jul-Sep | Oct-Dec |
Set 2 – Scans from Microfilm and Newsweek Indexes
“Newsweek on Air” Audio Recordings 1981-2009
Newsweek On Air is a collection of audio recordings of Newsweek’s podcast, 1981-2009, minus several years. A link and help are near the bottom of this page.
To find an audio recording of the Newsweek on Air podcast for a particular week, do this:
1. Go to the Newsweek On Air page at the Internet Archive, and check the left column to see if the collection includes the year you want.
2. Type or paste this format into the Search box on the “Newsweek on Air” Internet Archive page:
title:(newsweek on air) AND date:2007-11-??
Replace the year and month with your year and month, but leave the ?? in place. The search should return all recordings for that month if they are in the collection.
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