—In 2008, Newsweek implemented a circulation rate base reduction at its domestic edition, from 3.1 million to 2.6 million, and in 2009, Newsweek implemented another rate base reduction, to 1.5 million in January 2010.

—Also in 2009, Newsweek completed a Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program, with 44 employees accepting early retirement. Expense of $6.6 million was recorded in the first quarter of 2009, which is being funded primarily from the assets of company’s pension plans.

—In Q1 2008, Newsweek also offered a Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program to certain employees and 117 employees accepted the offer. The early retirement program expense in 2008 totaled $28.3 million, also funded primarily from the assets of the company’s pension plans.

—Additional cost savings initiatives were implemented at Newsweek’s operations in 2009, and $8.4 million in severance and lease termination costs were recorded.

—The domestic edition of Newsweek includes more than 100 different geographic or demographic editions. That is sure to go.

—Newsweek is reducing its domestic rate base to 1.5 million copies in Q1 2010, reflecting a shift in focus to “a different demographic that is closer to its core base of loyal subscribers.” Meaning its core base is shrinking rapidly and so it is too.

—“This will change Newsweek’s competitive set, making it the largest premium news and ideas magazine, aligned more closely with The Economist, New York magazine, New Yorker, Wired, BusinessWeek and The Atlantic.” Only lot more troubled and without a benefactor, as of now.

—“In 2009, Newsweek, Inc. increased the subscription price of Newsweek and its national advertising rates to reflect a more valuable subscriber base.” Sure, that worked perfectly.

—Internationally, Newsweek is published in English in a Europe, Middle East and Africa edition; an Asia edition covering Japan, Korea and south Asia; and a Latin America edition. Guess what happens to those…

—Newsweek estimates that the combined average weekly paid circulation for these English-language international editions of Newsweek in 2009 was approximately 460,000 copies.

—Currently, Newsweek is published in Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Polish, Russian and Turkish. Combined average weekly paid circulation of the various foreign-language international editions of Newsweek was approximately 561,000 copies in 2009.

—Newsweek.com maintains a content-sharing, co-branding and traffic relationship with MSNBC.com that has evolved from a contractual relationship that was established in 2000.

—Newsweek sold its Budget Travel operations, including all assets and liabilities formerly reported as Newsweek Budget Travel, effective Dec 31, 2009.

—Now to the really mundane: Newsweek‘s domestic edition is produced by two independent contract printers at four separate plants in U.S.

—The domestic edition of Newsweek consumed about 17,000 tons of paper in 2009, the bulk of which was purchased from four major suppliers. The current cost of body paper (the principal paper component of the magazine) is approximately $1,000 per ton.

—More than 90 percent of the aggregate domestic circulation of Newsweek is delivered by periodical (formerly second-class) mail, and most subscriptions for such publications are solicited by either first-class or standard (formerly third-class) mail. Thus, substantial increases in postal rates for these classes of mail could have a significant negative impact on the operating income of these business units. Could?

—The principal offices of Newsweek, Inc. are located at 395 Hudson Street in New York City, where Newsweek rents space on two floors. The lease on this new space, subject to renewal rights, will expire on April 30, 2024. That could make or break the sale. (Note: That space is already going to Kaplan; Newsweek is set to move again at the end of the summer.)

We should get some updated info on Newsweek in Friday’s earnings release.