Posted on 07/22/2023 9:22:42 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Washington Post has big problems, and this time, it’s not just the loss of the outlet’s credibility, though that’s an evergreen issue.
The once-storied newspaper is staring at a massive $100 million loss in 2023 due to the continued hemorrhaging of subscribers following the 2020 election. Apparently, Joe Biden isn’t good for business. For four years, the Post feasted on a never-ending stream of stories surrounding Donald Trump as president. In more recent times, that hasn’t been nearly as lucrative, though.
10 years after The Washington Post was purchased by Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos, the outlet is “on a pace to lose about $100 million in 2023,” according to a recent New York Times report.
Bezos took over the Post for $250 million in 2013, in one of the most significant media acquisitions of the last decade. The Post’s famous saying, “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” became the official slogan of the paper in 2017, under Bezos’ watch.
But it seems that even Bezos could not turn around The Post’s flagging popularity with readers.
“The Post has struggled to increase the number of its paying customers since the 2020 election, when its digital subscriptions peaked at three million. It now has around 2.5 million,” The Times wrote in a story headlined, “A Decade Ago, Jeff Bezos Bought a Newspaper. Now He’s Paying Attention to It Again.”
After several years of leaving the paper to its own devices, owner Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame is set to become more involved. But as is to be expected from a man of the far left, Bezos appears to be making surface-level changes instead of digging down to the root.
Fred Ryan, the paper’s former chief business executive was sent packing, but is that really going to fix the Post’s problems? I’d suggest not. We are talking about a paper that unironically employs Taylor Lorenz, one of the most unethical “journalists” in modern history.
Assuming the Post is even salvageable, changes within the newsroom would be necessary. Those are unlikely to happen because the inmates are obviously running the asylum. Young, overly-entitled activists make up the bulk of the Post’s roster, and they aren’t going anywhere, at least not without throwing a fit. Does anyone think Bezos is up for that battle?
At the very least, the Post would need to start actually doing its job when it comes to holding Democrats accountable. That could theoretically open up a new revenue source because right now, the paper has long alienated a large chunk of the country with its bias. But again, does anyone think Bezos is up for that?
Of course, there’s another possible out, but it puts the Post in conflict with itself. Specifically, Donald Trump regaining the presidency or even the election of another Republican to the White House could provide the juice in subscribers the paper needs. After all, nothing sells better on the left than predictions of fascistic doom. That would mean the Post not doing everything it can to put Joe Biden (or some other Democrat) back in power, though. What a dilemma.
Why would Bezos even want to own the post ?
Trump effect… so sad…
Gee, where are their big heroes, Woodward and Bernstein to save ‘em?
Gee, where are their big heroes, Woodward and Bernstein to save ‘em?
Karma
Maybe he is a glutton for punishment. 😁
Prestige. Status. Influence.
It automatically buys him membership in the highest establishment political circles (among both Dems and GOP).
Last I heard (which was a few years ago), Bezos was worth $140 billion. It's probably way more by now.
$100 million is 1/1400th of his net worth. He probably makes more in a year than the Post loses.
Bezos can afford it.
Being utterly predictable (in their leftism) doesn’t sound like a great business model.
Bezos can cover that with the loose change he finds in the couch cushions. And he will. Owning the Post is a personal power trip for him.
How do you keep an enterprise running while losing a single dollar?
Sobbing.
150 billion. He lost some of it in his divorce. He should be worth 200 billion.
Wow - now that's a surprise. /s
Next will be the Chinese print edition.
Nice to start the day with some good news.
He can afford to look like a fool?
Let’s think about this for one moment. Loss, a one year loss is 100 million. Recent purchase price 250 million. What’s his one year return on investment? If we assume a 100 million loss into perpetuity, what’s his loss vehicle worth?
So, it looks to me that he paid too much for some asswipe paper.
When every reporter considers themselves a seated member of the op-ed staff this is what happens.
Editors no longer edit and senior editors are a crapshoot, if there still is such a thing.
I used to read news streams off the teletype, raw news, no fluff. Nowadays everybody wants to be their own little CS Lewis or some other contortion of the literary enigma, when just the facts would do nicely.
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