Tina Brown: “Newsweek? Isn’t that the failing magazine that nobody reads?”

Deputy editor: “Definitely, Ms. Brown.”

Tina Brown: “Is it a good idea to merge Newsweek and the Daily Beast?

Deputy editor: “Up to a point, Ms. Brown.”

(Fans of Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop, which is the source for the name of the Daily Beast, will get this.)