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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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 GLOSSIES 
3

The Washington Post Is Odds-On Fave to Survive

Newspaper trimmed staff, and it's paid off: Wolff

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(Newser) – Like America's other newspapers, the Washington Post is in pain, operating $86 million in the red after axing 400 reporters. “And yet,” Newser founder Michael Wolff writes in Vanity Fair, “if you had to look for a circumstance out of which a newspaper might have the chance to re-invent itself, the Post would be a pretty good candidate.” Why? Well, it owns a cash-cow in Stanley Kaplan, the SAT-study firm, and has—perhaps shockingly—made good business decisions.

Two years ago, the Post entered “existential horror” mode and appointed a young scion of the owning family, Katharine Weymouth, to solve the paper's financial crisis. Cutting back staff, she focused on local news and invested only modestly in an online presence—whereas the New York Times "invested massively." Weymouth's "lame-o salons" did embarrass the Post, but morale remains high as the staff pulls for her family, "and for themselves, and for whatever it is they’re going to become."

The Washington Post building in Washington.
The Washington Post building in Washington.   (AP Photo)
Don Graham, Chairman and CEO of the Washington Post Co.
Don Graham, Chairman and CEO of the Washington Post Co.   (AP Photo)
A Washington Post vending machine is stocked with newspapers for sale on May 1, 2009 in Washington, DC.
A Washington Post vending machine is stocked with newspapers for sale on May 1, 2009 in Washington, DC.   (Getty Images)
Washington Post reporters, Dana Priest, third from the right, Anne Hull, second from the right, and Assistant Managing Editor for Photography Michel du Cille, right, talk in the newsroom after it was announced the three won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for a series on shoddy treatment of America's...
Washington Post reporters, Dana Priest, third from the right, Anne Hull, second from the right, and Assistant Managing Editor for Photography Michel du Cille, right, talk in the newsroom after it was...   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The Washington Post building is seen in Washington, Friday, Oct. 31, 2008.
The Washington Post building is seen in Washington, Friday, Oct. 31, 2008.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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Within the Post, they’ve given up on maintaining themselves, and are even getting past loss and nostalgia. They will be something else—even if nobody knows what that is. - Michael Wolff

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3 comments
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JonmarkP
Sep 4, 09 4:05 PM CDT
I get my hard news from The Daily Show, my grins from @badbanana and my irony from corporate rags like the Washington Post and Newser. Reply
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mainlander
Sep 4, 09 6:12 PM CDT
The Daily Show actually has more real news than any of the big networks, and the best interviews on TV. Our 'traditional' news sources are in a sorry state when they get beat by a comedy show.
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shonangreg
Sep 4, 09 10:44 PM CDT
It is true. I used to say, and it is said, that you can't really appreciate the humor of Stewart and Colbert unless you're already aware of recent news. While this is partly true, it is also true that the editors and researchers there dig deeper and broader into news stories and allude to links that i didn't know about. .................................. So, in addition to the need to be relatively well informed, you'll often be catalyzed into further research after watching every episode. .............. And yes, Stewart's interviews are great -- both in the selection and Stewart's interview skills. Chris Matthews and O'Reilly don't even begin to compare. They can't ask well-formed questions and wait for the full answer. Olbermann never seems to do hard-hitting interviews. Rachel Maddow is improving but still not nearly as quick-witted nor as strategic and Stewart, and while Larry King has good interview skills, his selection of guests is all ambulance chasing, freaks, or feel-good pablum.
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