Another sign of the digital age we live in, the historic Washington Post has been sold. In a stunning announcement, the Washington Post said Monday that it has been sold for $250 million to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Publisher Katharine Weymouth made the announcement at a hastily called meeting of the paper’s staff on Monday. She will stay on as publisher, and editor Martin Baron will also retain his job.
The purchase is a personal one for Bezos, who is worth $25.2 billion. Amazon is not involved.
Bezos also bought the Washington Post Company’s other newspaper titles, including the Express newspaper, The Gazette Newspapers, Southern Maryland Newspapers, Fairfax County Times, El Tiempo Latino and Greater Washington Publishing. The company’s non-newspaper properties, such as Slate, The Root, and the Kaplan educational division, are not being sold.
Post Co. CEO Donald Graham, whose family has owned the Post for generations, said in a statement that the economics of the print industry had led to the decision. The company’s newspaper division has been facing tremendous struggles in recent years; in the first half of 2013, it lost $49.3 million.
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