ad

Front Page Talking Points

FOR THE WEEK OF AUG. 12, 2013

Sale of Washington Post to Amazon founder reflects newspaper industry changes

frontpageactionpoints.gif

1.gifShow an example of how this newspaper serves the community.

2.gifList other reasons why newspapers remain useful (online or in print).

3.gifNow find an interesting business story and tell why you chose it.

The Washington Post, a widely respected newspaper in the national capital, changed ownership in a dramatic way. The family-run paper now is owned by Jeff Bezos, a billionaire who founded the successful online store Amazon in 1994. His $250-million purchase last week made news because of the paper and buyer are each high-profile, and also because it symbolizes the newspaper industry's evolution to a new era.

Here's how one business writer, Bill Rigby of Reuters, describes the impact: "The famed innovator is bringing enormous street cred to bear on a problem that has baffled newspaper owners for over a decade: how to reverse the ebb of advertisers to other media." The Post company's chief executive, Donald Graham , says he and other members of the family that has owned the paper for four generations "decided to sell only after years of familiar newspaper industry challenges made us wonder if there might be another owner who would be better for the Post."

The new owner says the paper "will need to experiment" to compete profitably." The Internet is transforming almost every element of the news business," he notes in a memo to staff members. . . . There is no map, and charting a path ahead will not be easy." Dan Froomkin, a former top online edition editor at the Post, agrees that it won't be easy – but is optimistic about the change. "It’s very exciting" he writes in Columbia Journalism Review. "I had thought it was too late for newsrooms to stake out their rightful place as nerve centers for the Internet, but I’m not so sure anymore."

Jeff Bezos says: "The values of The Post do not need changing. The papers duty will remain to its readers and not to the private interests of its owners." – Memo to employees

Journalist says: "Now a new owner, in the new Internet orbit, brings his own glamour to The Post. Good luck to you, Jeff Bezos of Amazon. The Post is dead. Long live The Post." -- Henry Allen, former Post writer and editor

Educator says: "The real challenge is to make that [Post] brand relevant to the generation that’s coming out of college." – Steve Coll, journalism dean at Columbia University and a former Post managing editor

Front Page Talking Points is written by Alan Stamm for NIEonline.com, Copyright 2024

Front Page Talking Points Archive

Common Core State Standard
SL.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: An essay of a current news event is provided for discussion to encourage participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the article. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event within the news, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.