Washington, Dec 25 (IANS/RIA Novosti): The venerable US weekly news magazine Newsweek released its final print issue Monday, publishing a cover featuring a vintage black and white photograph of the former Newsweek building in Midtown Manhattan contrasted with an apt hashtag phrase: #LASTPRINTISSUE.

"The issue in your hand is the last edition of Newsweek in print," editor-in-chief Tina Brown wrote in a statement published Monday.

"The next, in the first week of January, will be on your iPad or Kindle or phone. By late February, you will see the full evolution of the spanking-new, all-digital Newsweek Global, currently in development."

Brown announced in October that Newsweek would cease production of its print version at the end of the year and reconfigure the publication as an exclusively digital product.

The move online comes as the current affairs magazine prepares to celebrate its 80th anniversary in February.

It is the latest example of the print news media's struggles to establish a sustainable business model as advertisers continue to migrate en masse to the internet.