No more "still" at the Washington Post

[fjtorres]

Answers are emerging as to what Jeff Bezos wants to do with the Washington post:

http://www.cjr.org/cover_story/washi...s.php?page=all

Things like get big fast.
And the term "amazonian" pops up frequently.

“In the old times,” said Cameron Barr, the national editor, referring to a period that ended less than a year ago, “I used to militate against the word ‘still.’ It would come out of people’s mouths all the time and it drove me crazy. ‘We still have great reporters. We still can do great journalism. We’re still The Washington Post.’ I had a jihad against the word ‘still,’ because implicit in that word is the idea that we are totally screwed. But now you don’t hear the word ‘still.’ ”

At some indiscernible point in the last 10 to 15 years, the Post, the newspaper that brought down a president, bowed out of the competition to be the best newspaper in the country and entered into a rivalry with its own past. The paper still did great journalism, but The New York Times became the country’s only outlet with the ambition and the resources to cover the world with depth and intelligence.

The Post is once again hungry to be a dominant force in American journalism, and the newsroom senses that the Graham era has been sealed off behind them. The only way out is to move forward.
“I think Bezos is giving us a chance to show what we would have done if we had had that runway all along,” one editor said. “If we don’t figure it out, I would not blame the owner for replacing all of us.”

Listen to what Bezos says, or watch where he puts his money and directs his focus, and you can see how he’s starting to overlay the brilliance of Amazon onto the scaffolding of The Washington Post. The journalism isn’t what he plans to revamp, or necessarily invest significant new funds in—the new hires notwithstanding—at least initially. His main focus is the pipeline: reaching the maximum number of customers by putting the Post’s journalism in a package (a tablet, a mobile site) that will draw the greatest number of readers. As it has been with Amazon, his obsession at the Post is finding a way to integrate a product into millions of people’s lives in a way they haven’t yet experienced.

The seeds of this vision were evident in Bezos’ first visit to the Post in early September 2013, one month prior to the official change of ownership last October. Throughout two days of meetings, Bezos worked to reassure journalists that “the values of the Post don’t need changing,” while at the same time indicating that this would be a very different era at the paper—one focused on the kind of growth and obsession with the customer that have defined Amazon.

The unstated purpose of Bezos’ visit was to convince the Post newsroom, its readers, and the wider media world that these two cultures were compatible. Throughout his visit, Bezos repeatedly made reference to a “new golden era” at the paper. He had breakfast with the iconic investigative reporter Bob Woodward, and took notes as Woodward read from a 14-point memo detailing his advice on matters like harnessing the reporting capacity of the newsroom. At a lunch meeting with about 20 senior editors, Cameron Barr, the national editor, asked Bezos what his sense was of the Post’s potential audience: “Was it the United States? Was it the English-speaking world?” Bezos indicated that it was the English-speaking world.

Way more at the source.

As a one-time subscriber of the POST, I would be thrilled to see it return to its old role as a full-feature news channel and not just a political rag. A global-focus WP is something I look forward to.

[SleepyBob]

And here I was looking forward to an article about the still that the editors ran in the back closet.

[pwalker8]

I suspect Bezos' biggest issue will be convincing people that the Post provides enough value than people will be willing to pay for it (the other model is purely ad driven). I subscribe to the WSJ because I think it provides value for the money. What is he going to provide that I can't get elsewhere and has meaning to me?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by SleepyBob

And here I was looking forward to an article about the still that the editors ran in the back closet.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by SleepyBob

And here I was looking forward to an article about the still that the editors ran in the back closet.

That was on the business side of the impregnable wall. No free booze for editors.

[bfisher]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Answers are emerging as to what Jeff Bezos wants to do with the Washington post:

http://www.cjr.org/cover_story/washi...s.php?page=all

Things like get big fast.
And the term "amazonian" pops up frequently.








Way more at the source.

As a one-time subscriber of the POST, I would be thrilled to see it return to its old role as a full-feature news channel and not just a political rag. A global-focus WP is something I look forward to.

I have been reading the WPost for a few months using the Android app. The app works great as a reading tool, but the content is not there yet. Still all about inside Washington.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by bfisher

I have been reading the WPost for a few months using the Android app. The app works great as a reading tool, but the content is not there yet. Still all about inside Washington.

Yeah, they have a lot of work to do to get back to where they were in the 70's, but it's been only three months. At least now they have a mission statement that makes sense for an outfit that big.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

That was on the business side of the impregnable wall. No free booze for editors.

That's why they need a still.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by SleepyBob

And here I was looking forward to an article about the still that the editors ran in the back closet.

I thought it might mean that no more photos (stills) would be used, only video clips.

I see a re-run of News Week here. Perhaps another Tina Brown in Bob Woodward?

[Wolfies]

Originally Posted by SleepyBob

And here I was looking forward to an article about the still that the editors ran in the back closet.

I thought they had banned the word. On some OED basis ...

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by frahse

I thought it might mean that no more photos (stills) would be used, only video clips.

I see a re-run of News Week here. Perhaps another Tina Brown in Bob Woodward?

Originally Posted by Wolfies

I thought they had banned the word. On some OED basis ...

And *I* thought people were allowed to make jokes without being attacked by the serious police.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

And *I* thought people were allowed to make jokes without being attacked by the serious police.

I thought it was cute.
Considering the state of the WP pre-Bezos I could see the value of one.

Of course, being a ChemE by training, I'm well acquainted with the technology and the uses of the output. Especially when it processes sugar cane molasses.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Especially when it processes sugar cane molasses.

Mighty fine byproducts from that stuff... hic