Changing guard at WaPo

Well—big news in the, uh, news business: The Washington Post Company announced yesterday that it’s sold its flagship property, The Washington Post, to Amazon founder/CEO Jeff Bezos, for $250M.

Some interesting things about this sale:

WaPo senior management kept the fact that the paper was on the block secret from everyone, including its own employees. Reaction all over the place was stunned disbelief. I don’t know what that says about their newsroom’s investigative abilities.

Bezos, 49, has bought the paper as a private individual. It’s not Amazon making the purchase. But there have been some wags on Twitter capitalizing on the connection between the man and his company:

Apparently $250M is chump change to Bezos, who has a personal worth of $25.2B, according to Forbes.

I don’t know what to say about this—I loved WaPo. It was one of the best things about living in the D.C. area, having a first-class newspaper to read every morning.

When I moved to the UK, I was appalled by what passed for journalism there, the conflating of news and editorial commentary, the massive delta between the quality of national/international and local coverage, the lack of comics and coupons. I was accustomed to having a local paper what was also national, staffed by professionals (with one or two exceptions, like Janet Cooke) who were great news people and fabulous writers. I used to check WaPo regularly online to get my reportage.

Back in Virginia at the end of 2001, and without a job, I still had the consolation of a first-class newspaper to curl up with everyday.

But, of course, you don’t step into the same river twice, and the news industry has been struggling with the changes wrought by the Internet for at least a decade. A lot of great newspapers have come as near as dammit to folding; WaPo itself has had several rounds of lay-offs/early retirement offers that have changed the nature of its coverage.

After Ken Ringle left, to tell the truth, it just wasn’t the same for me.

Even now, as I went to their site to get the Bezos sale story from the horse’s mouth, I was greeted by a popup telling me I’ve used one of my 20 free story views for the month. Sigh.

Bezos issued a six-paragraph letter to WaPo employees. In it he assures them to the extent possible that the transition will be smooth, he’s not going to be involved in day-to-day management, etc. But there will be change. (Or death, but of course he didn’t say that.)

Here’s one graf that gives me some hope that the paper won’t turn into a three-times-a-week publication, or a scandal-rag:

“Journalism plays a critical role in a free society, and The Washington Post – as the hometown paper of the capital city of the United States – is especially important. I would highlight two kinds of courage the Grahams have shown as owners that I hope to channel. The first is the courage to say wait, be sure, slow down, get another source. Real people and their reputations, livelihoods and families are at stake. The second is the courage to say follow the story, no matter the cost. While I hope no one ever threatens to put one of my body parts through a wringer, if they do, thanks to Mrs. Graham’s example, I’ll be ready.”

Well—he certainly understands the purpose and the past of this paper. I hope to God he equips it for the future. I’d like to move back there and have it to read everyday again.