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- Jeff Bezos is more interested in expanding the Post’s technological capabilities than in acquisitions, sources said.
- Post executives had discussed the purchase of the Kotaku headquarters and decision-making office, but they were successful.
- Bezos and publisher Fred Ryan are now looking for a successor for publisher Marty Baron.
- Visit Insider’s Business section for more stories.
Editor’s Note: This story originally included a statement that Marty Baron, Jeff Bezos and The Washington Post discussed a possible acquisition of the Miami Herald.
Upon further examination, the search for these details was carried out by someone who said they had been briefed but was not directly involved in the reported conversation. The specific conversation could not be verified by other reports and was challenged instead. Reference to this conversation has been removed.
Jeff Bezos has been a model newspaper owner since buying the Washington Post in 2013, increasing the newspaper’s technological capabilities and avoiding meddling in editorial matters.
But now that Bezos is stepping down as CEO of Amazon to become the company’s executive chairman, postal workers are speculating on their billionaire owner’s engagement as he chooses a successor for editor Marty Baron.
Acquisitions are an area of speculation. The Post did not do one under Bezos, but according to two people familiar with the matter, Post executives have discussed further acquisitions in the past.
Instead, Post insiders described how Bezos views the Post’s role in safeguarding journalism – through technology, not acquisition.
Since Bezos bought the newspaper, the Post has invested heavily in technology. Its Arc platform, for example, provides technical infrastructure to more than 1,000 locations around the world and has become an increasingly important part of the Post’s business. Arc brings in tens of millions of dollars in revenue per year and is profitable, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The Post also licenses its in-house adtech tool Zeus to companies such as McClatchy, the Seattle Times and Tribune Publishing. A Post source said Zeus was almost as profitable.
To Bezos, Arc and Zeus are to the Washington Post what Amazon Web Services (AWS) is to Amazon – lucrative, cloud-based offerings through which outside companies can innovate, according to people familiar with his thinking.
An additional question for Bezos will be whether to separate Arc or Zeus into separate companies. This could potentially help market the products to a wider range of businesses, although part of the appeal of the services is that they help publishers be part of a collective that includes the Post itself. .
Meanwhile, the IT expansion has fueled internal speculation that IT director Shailesh Prakash could succeed publisher Fred Ryan, 65, who is nearing retirement age. (The baron is 66 years old.)
“Fred hopes to remain an editor for the long term and has assured Jeff that he has no plans to retire anytime soon,” the Post spokesperson said.
The Post discussed but eventually passed on other acquisitions
After Bezos verified the Post’s name as a passion that will receive “time and energy” in his announcement to resign as CEO of Amazon, text messages and slacks began flying between the “Posties. “in the newsroom. Some said they believed Bezos’ overall commitment to the post was to polish his legacy. They are largely unsure of what his job change will mean for them, if at all.
Journalistically, Bezos is said to be very interested in area coverage. During his tenure, for example, The Post expanded its coverage of technology and poached journalists from media outlets like the Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper has considered other targeted acquisitions in the past, including a thorough review of video game site Kotaku in 2019. The Post was ultimately adopted, according to two people familiar with the matter. (Kotaku was part of Univision’s sale of Gizmodo Media Group to Great Hill Partners.) Later that year, the Post launched its own video game and esports section, Launcher, funded by GEICO.
Company executives have also considered buying Decision Desk HQ, the election reporting service, but have not reached a deal, a source said.
A spokesperson said there had never been active discussions with Kotaku, Decision Desk or the Herald.
The search for the next best publisher of the publication is launched
Although it was only a small (relatively speaking) $ 250 million purchase for the richest man in the world, the Post acquisition was an incredible success. The newspaper entered its fifth consecutive year of profitability in 2020 and plans to add 150 positions in 2021. It is also emerging from a period of journalistic glory after breaking scoop after scoop on the tumultuous Trump administration.
“I think the Post has given Bezos some of the best public relations he has had in years,” a Post staff member said.
Bezos has been a largely independent owner, but will be involved in selecting a successor for Baron, who will leave the company at the end of the month. Possible candidates include former editor Kevin Merida and current national editor Steven Ginsberg. Staff members are also preparing for the possibility of a surprise external hire.
A journalism titan made more famous after being portrayed by Liev Schreiber in the movie “Spotlight,” Baron has a firm hold on the Post’s newsroom which will be hard to match for a new editor.
Sources at the Post said that during the pre-pandemic times Ryan was known to have met Baron in Baron’s office, with the editor facing the newsroom and keeping an eye on things. Baron also kept Bezos out of the news – which could be more difficult for the future successor.
“Marty was very respectful of Jeff but very little interested in talking about editorial strategy,” a Post insider said.
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