Cover of Newsweek Magazine featuring the First Lady Michelle Obama (Flickr/Creative Commons).

From Tina Brown, editor-in-chief and founder of The Newsweek Daily Beast Co, and CEO Baba Shetty:

“We are announcing this morning an important development at Newsweek and The Daily Beast. Newsweek will transition to an all-digital format in early 2013. As part of this transition, the last print edition in the United States will be our Dec. 31 issue...

Meanwhile, Newsweek will expand its rapidly growing tablet and online presence, as well as its successful global partnerships and events business...

Exiting print is an extremely difficult moment for all of us who love the romance of print and the unique weekly camaraderie of those hectic hours before the close on Friday night. But as we head for the 80th anniversary of Newsweek next year we must sustain the journalism that gives the magazine its purpose — and embrace the all-digital future.”

Read the entire statement here.

The all-digital version of the magazine will be called Newsweek Global and will operate through a paid subscription model.

Reach Executive Producer Lauren Foliart here.