Jeff Bezos Visits The Washington Post Under Financial Uncertainty

The Washington Post has struggled with declining advertising revenue and stagnant growth in online subscriptions. The question that has been hovering over the vehicle for the last few months is: what does Jeff Bezos think?

The founder of Amazon, which bought the news organization in 2013, has not publicly said anything about the Post’s recent struggles. But on Thursday, he made a rare appearance in the newsroom, attending the morning staff meeting for the first time in over a year.

Bezos still said little. “I’m delighted to be here and see all these faces,” he said, according to three people briefed on his comments, before asking the Post’s editor-in-chief Sally Buzbee about her recent trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “Thank you for allowing me to listen,” he continued.

“Great,” said Buzbee. “Let’s have an agenda meeting.”

But the meeting — with Bezos sitting next to Buzbee at a large table in a glass-walled conference room on the sixth floor, with editor Fred Ryan sitting nearby — signaled that he was paying attention.

“Jeff is here for personal meetings with Fred, Sally and the writing team,” a Post spokesperson said in an email.

Aside from Bezos’ appearance, the meeting proceeded like any other day, with editors discussing news and audience trends, according to the people briefed. At one point, an editor mentioned plans to publish an article about the demise of AmazonSmile, Bezos’ charitable program. The editors also discussed the impending sale of the Washington Commanders, a National Football League team. The Post previously reported that Bezos was interested in buying it.

The Post expanded rapidly after Bezos, one of the richest people in the world, bought the company for $250 million, substantially adding jobs to the newsroom and increasing its coverage areas. But business stalled last year.

Last month, Ryan told employees in a tense meeting that there would be layoffs. A Post spokesperson said in a statement at the time that the job cuts were intended to “put our company in the best position for future growth.” Employee layoffs, which according to Ryan will be a single-digit percentage, are expected to occur at the beginning of the year.

During Thursday’s meeting, Bezos’ entourage stood outside the room, headphones clearly visible. As he left, a Post employee wearing a red shirt emblazoned with the Post’s union association insignia stopped him and asked why the company was laying people off without offering compensation first, according to the three sources. Bezos responded that he was at the Post to listen, not answer questions, and highlighted his commitment to Post journalism.

The union said in a statement on Thursday: “We hope Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos has heeded employee pleas to stop these impending layoffs which, to the best of our knowledge, are not financially necessary or rooted in any corporate strategy. reported by editor Fred Ryan”. At least 60 people have joined the union since Ryan announced the layoffs, it said.

Bezos’ visit was seen internally as a sign of his commitment to the publication’s future, which was in question. He met with top editors, including Cameron Barr, Krissah Thompson, Lori Montgomery, Matea Gold and Phil Rucker, as well as a political reporter, Josh Dawsey, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

The Post was on the verge of ending 2022 in the red after years of profitability, The New York Times reported in August. The Post has struggled to expand its subscription business, with fewer paying subscribers last year than the 3 million it had in 2020, a presidential election year.

In recent months, the Post has seen an exodus of talent, including its chief information officer, chief communications officer and chief product officer. Several of its top journalists also left to work for rival publications.

Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves