NEW YORK – Former Democratic Congresswoman Jane Harman is replacing late husband Sidney on the board of directors of the Newsweek Daily Beast Co., while IAC chairman Barry Diller has taken on Harman’s role as executive chairman.
Sidney Harman died last week of complications from leukemia at age 92.
His family said that it will continue its ownership in the media venture, but the role for Jane Harman comes as a bit of a surprise after her husband had said in the past she wouldn’t get involved.
“I have agreed to represent the Harman family’s fifty percent interest in Newsweek and The Daily Beast and to join Barry Diller on the board,” said Jane Harman in a statement on Thursday. “The Harman family fully endorsed Sidney’s vision to save and restore Newsweek, and to merge it with The Daily Beast. We are so pleased with the progress to date. As a director, I will work to support the best of journalism – in print, digital, and mobile. Our family will remain actively engaged and totally committed to the success of this enterprise.”
Harman, a former U.S. Representative for California’s 36th congressional district, is currently also president and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Her late husband last year acquired Newsweek from the Washington Post Co. and then agreed to a merger with the Daily Beast.
