Jeff Bezos[4] on Wednesday concluded two days of meetings with staff of the Washington Post[5] , his first since agreeing to buy the paper a month ago. He offered high-level thoughts on what could help revive newspapers—but without specifics about his plans for the title, according to people who attended the meetings.
Mr. Bezos wouldn't be drawn out as to how much he is willing to invest in the paper and precisely how big its staff should be, the people said.
Amazon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last month Washington Post Co. unexpectedly announced it was selling the paper to Mr. Bezos for $250 million. Mr. Bezos is the founder and chief executive of Amazon.com[6] Inc. but he is buying the newspaper personally.
Jeff Bezos leaves the Washington Post's offices Wednesday with publisher Katharine Weymouth.
Mr. Bezos's comments included a familiar warning to traditional newsrooms about how the Internet had upended the traditional newspaper business model by allowing readers to consume individual articles, rather than entire editions and subscriptions. He further said that online outlets were challenging traditional media outlets by picking up their exclusive stories. He said the Post needs to figure out a way to address the issue.
Mr. Bezos also talked generally about the need for the Post to embrace modern technology such as tablets. One of the people at the meeting said Mr. Bezos raised the possibility of the Post working at arms-length from Amazon, such as selling Post subscriptions on the site.
He also said that the paper, which has reduced its workforce in recent years, would be rendered obsolete if it continued to cut staff, said people in the meeting.
Mr. Bezos met with a select group of reporters and editors Wednesday morning and held a question-and-answer session with the newsroom later Wednesday afternoon. In the morning meeting, according to an article published by the Post online, Mr. Bezos told attendees that "making money isn't enough." He added that the business has to be growing.
Mr. Bezos's purchase of the paper has raised questions about how the Web billionaire might try to revive a newspaper which, like others in the industry, has suffered a long-term decline in print advertising revenue and the defection of readers to the Web.
In an interview published by the Post on Monday, Mr. Bezos was quoted saying he would offer "advice from a distance." He also suggested that the Post could learn from the focus on customer service at Amazon.
On Wednesday, Mr. Bezos also gave a nod to the big shoes he was filling, taking over ownership from the Graham family, which has steered the paper for decades and, with its Watergate reporting, helped topple President Nixon.
"I will never out-Don Don," Mr. Bezos said, according to a person at the meeting, referring to Donald Graham, the CEO of Washington Post Co. Mr. Graham replied, "Promise?"
Write to William Launder at william.launder@wsj.com[7] and Keach Hagey at keach.hagey@wsj.com[8]
References
- ^ WILLIAM LAUNDER (topics.wsj.com)
- ^ KEACH HAGEY (topics.wsj.com)
- ^ CONNECT (online.wsj.com)
- ^ Jeff Bezos (topics.wsj.com)
- ^ Washington Post (online.wsj.com)
- ^ Amazon.com (online.wsj.com)
- ^ william.launder@wsj.com (online.wsj.com)
- ^ keach.hagey@wsj.com (online.wsj.com)
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