In a surprise announcement on Monday afternoon, the Washington Post said the Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is buying the storied newspaper and its publishing business.
"Everyone at the Post Company and everyone in our family has always been proud of The Washington Post — of the newspaper we publish and of the people who write and produce it," said Donald E. Graham, Chairman and CEO of The Washington Post Company in a statement. "I, along with Katharine Weymouth and our board of directors, decided to sell only after years of familiar newspaper-industry challenges made us wonder if there might be another owner who would be better for the Post.”
The Post has been struggling for years and has been slower than other major newspapers such as the New York Times at making the shift to a digital based business.
While the sale was unexpected, so too is the new owner. Bezos has made his name in building Amazon into a dominant book seller and then a powerhouse in overall retail and cloud computing, but he has not expressed interest in acquiring traditional news brands.
More soon.
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