Newsweek reports today that its parent, The Washingon Post Company, is exploring a sale of the news weekly.

“The Washington Post Co. announced today that it has retained Allen & Company to explore the possible sale of Newsweek magazine,” the short item stated. “The newsweekly was launched in 1933 and purchased by The Washington Post Co. in 1961.”

It also quotes Post Company chairman Donald Graham as saying, “The losses at Newsweek in 2007-2009 are a matter of record. Despite heroic efforts on the part of Newsweek's management and staff, we expect it to still lose money in 2010. We are exploring all options to fix that problem. Newsweek is a lively, important magazine and website, and in the current climate, it might be a better fit elsewhere.”