Amazon boss Bezos buys Washington Post
The Washington Post is changing hands: It is being purchased by Jeff Bezos, the founder of the online retailer Amazon.
Bezos will take over the newspaper business from the Graham publishing family for 250 million dollars, the Post announced. Donald Graham, head of the Washington Post Company, cited the difficult situation in the newspaper industry as the reason for the sale on Monday. The Washington Post's circulation and advertising revenues had also shrunk.
"Bezos' unique understanding of technology, his business acumen, his long-term approach and his personal integrity" made him a particularly suitable candidate, Graham continued. As the media company emphasized, the Amazon founder is buying the newspaper as an individual and not on behalf of the world's largest online retailer.
"The values of Swiss Post will not change," Bezos promised confidently. The current managers are to remain in their positions, including publisher Katharine Weymouth and editor-in-chief Martin Baron. Along with the Washington Post, several smaller papers are also going to Bezos.
The Washington Post was owned by the Graham family for eight decades. Among other things, it became famous for uncovering the "Watergate" scandal, which led to the resignation of then US President Richard Nixon in the 1970s. Most recently, she contributed to reporting on the NSA wiretapping affair with revelations.
The listed Washington Post Company has been repositioning itself for years. It includes an education provider, local television stations and a cable network operator, among others. The company will change its name after the sale of the newspaper is completed, which is expected by the end of the year. However, a new name has not yet been found (uma/SDA).
