Clark Kent's Got His Work Cut Out for Him
If Anyone Can Save the Washington Post, It's Jeff Bezos
Slate
Everyone has an opinion about Jeff Bezos’s purchase of The Washington Post. James Fallows has a lovely piece about why the moment is significant for journalism; Kara Swisher writes about what the Post didn’t see coming and offers Bezos some excellent advice; and (on our own site) Bill Taylor and Justin Fox explore new leadership and investment models related to the acquisition. But one of the more interesting angles is one from Slate’s Farhad Manjoo, who calls out a line in Bezos’s letter to the staff: “I won’t be leading the Washington Post day-to-day.” If anything, Manjoo argues, leading day-to-day is what Bezos should be prioritizing. Sure, a potential injection of cash is a huge boon. But what the publication really needs is the entrepreneur’s ideas and presence, particularly given what he’s really good at: “finding new ways to sell old things.” He has three signature traits that feed this ability: He’s “relentlessly focused on pleasing customers,” “uncommonly patient,” and “fascinated by novel business models.” The latter, Manjoo stresses, is key, because journalism is at a point where figuring out a new way to construct a pay wall isn’t good enough anymore. It needs a new business model that also allows it maintain its integrity.