Mediagazer: Why the Sale of the Washington Post Seems So Significant (James Fallows/The Atlantic Online)

10:25 AM ET, August 6, 2013

Top News:

Washington Post to be sold to Jeff Bezos — The Washington Post Co. has agreed to sell its flagship newspaper to Amazon.com founder and chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos, ending the Graham family's stewardship of one of America's leading news organizations after four generations.

Discussion: Politico, TechCrunch, Washington Post, Jack Shafer, New Republic, New York Times, PandoDaily, Capital New York, DealBook, Slate, Guardian, Nieman Journalism Lab, Columbia Journalism Review, Reuters, Wonkblog, Wall Street Journal, Talking Points Memo, FishbowlNY, The Buttry Diary, Variety, Bloomberg, Forbes, INMA, Businessweek, NetNewsCheck Latest, JIMROMENESKO.COM, Fortune, USA Today, Street Fight, @davidfrum, The Washington Post Company, Media Week, Hit & Run, Wonkblog, JIMROMENESKO.COM, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, The Huffington Post, The Slant, @geneweingarten, SocialTimes, Media Myth Alert, @timharford, Forbes, bizjournals, @moorehn, @corybe, Journalism.co.uk, TIME, @eddyelfenbein, @learmonth, @dangillmor, @jbflint, @rosental, @macloo, @nickbilton, @chanders, @sts10, @chanders, Gawker, @davidfolkenflik, @mikiebarb, @stephcliff, Quartz, @jimbradysp, Brave New World, @vivianschiller, @page88, @clarajeffery, @derekwillis, @dankennedy_nu, @jeffjarvis, @sts10, Wall Street Journal, @leenarao, @pkafka, Top Digital Journal News, Bookseller news, Deadline.com, CNET, MinOnline, The Wrap, The Week, metamedia, Wired, The New Yorker Blog, Poynter, The Switch, New York Magazine, The Huffington Post, Gannett Blog, Memex 1.1, Business Insider, VatorNews, The Atlantic Online, Betabeat, AdAge, ZDNet, The Next Web, Mediaite, TVSpy, VentureBeat, paidContent, Politico, Media & Entertainment, ReadWrite, AppNewser, GigaOM, Broadcasting & Cable, One Man and His Blog, Slate, FishbowlDC, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Digits, The New York Observer, The Verge, Electronista, The Dish, Vanity Fair, Engadget, Hillicon Valley and GalleyCat

David Carr / New York Times:

The Washington Post Reaches the End of the Graham Era — In late 2012, Donald E. Graham, the chairman and chief executive of The Washington Post Company, met with the paper's publisher, Katharine Weymouth, to look at the paper's future for the next three years. Their assessment troubled them.

Discussion: Poynter, The National Memo, Washington Post, Forbes, @kaleekreider, @emmagkeller, @curtisbeast, @1bobcohn, @brianstelter and @anupkaphle

David Remnick / New Yorker:

Donald Graham's Choice — “The pattern of a newspaperman's life is like the plot of ‘Black Beauty,’ ” A.J. Liebling wrote. “Sometimes he finds a kind master who gives him a dry stall and an occasional bran mash in the form of a Christmas bonus, sometimes he falls into the hands of a mean owner …

Discussion: FishbowlDC, Wonkblog, @alexkoppelman, @jenny8lee, Erik Wemple, @gabyhinsliff, @mattgarrahan, @magger, Slate, Forbes, Hit & Run, TechCrunch and Washington Post

Henry Blodget / Business Insider:

Here's Why I Think Jeff Bezos Bought The Washington Post — Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider, so in the wake of news that he's buying the Washington Post, folks have been asking me two questions: — What's it like being owned or invested in by Jeff Bezos?

Discussion: Poynter, Forbes, @ron_fournier, The Huffington Post, @lrozen, Washington Post, Bloomberg, The Switch, @sree and Politico

Laura Bennett / New Republic:

Author of Bezos Book: 'He's Buying a Lot of Political Influence' — Businessweek senior writer Brad Stone has written a book about Amazon—titled The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon—that will be released by Little, Brown in October. Stone spent several years reporting the book …

Discussion: Business Insider, DealBook, BBC, @ehmccormick, Washington Post, The Week, MarketWatch, The Verge and ZDNet

Evan McMurry / Mediaite:

'This Isn't Rupert Murdoch': Bob Woodward Praises ‘Innovator’ Jeff Bezos, Predicts ‘Renaissance In Reporting’ — Bob Woodward, a man more associated with the Washington Post than almost any living figure, spoke to MSNBC's Morning Joe about yesterday's shocking sale of the paper to Amazon's Jeff Bezos …

Discussion: The Wrap, Forbes, Speakeasy and WWD Media Headlines

Farhad Manjoo / Slate:
If Anyone Can Save the Washington Post, It's Jeff Bezos

Discussion: AllThingsD and The New Yorker Blog

James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
Why the Sale of the Washington Post Seems So Significant

Discussion: Washington Post, m.cjr.org, Forbes, BuzzFeed, WGBH News, New Republic, @pkafka, Reinventing the Newsroom, GigaOM, @sophblack and @bobstep

Alex Sherman / Bloomberg:

CBS Calls Time Warner Cable CEO's a-la-Carte Proposal a ‘Sham’ — CBS Corp. (CBS) dismissed a proposal by Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) Chief Executive Officer Glenn Britt to sell its channels a la carte, calling it a “sham” that wouldn't lead to productive negotiations to end a blackout.

Alex Ben Block / Hollywood Reporter:
Time Warner Cable: We'll End Blackout If We Can Offer CBS A La Carte

Discussion: Deadline.com, @sherman4949, @edmundlee, @samgustin, @peterlauria3, @wjcarter, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap and New York Times

David Taintor / Adweek:

Quartz Lets Readers Comment on Specific Paragraphs — Quartz is taking reader comments to the margins. — Atlantic Media's 10-month-old business publication on Tuesday introduced a new feature that lets readers weigh in on—and publish comments right next to—individual paragraphs within articles rather …

Discussion: GigaOM, Journalism.co.uk, eMedia Vitals, Talking Biz News, The Next Web and @mims

Greg Sandoval / The Verge:

Grooveshark settles EMI Publishing lawsuit, still faces uncertain future — Grooveshark, the oft-sued streaming music service, appears to be putting some of its legal troubles behind it. The company is expected to announce, perhaps as early as this week, that it has signed a licensing agreement …

Discussion: hypebot

Om Malik / GigaOM:

The short story of Longreads, according to founder Mark Armstrong — Mark Armstrong, like many people in New York City, was a commuter — he commuted to Time Inc.'s midtown Manhattan offices from Cobble HIll, Brooklyn, and it was the tedium of the commute that led him to seek ways to keep himself busy when he was without Wi-Fi.

A Edgecliffe-Johnson / @edgecliffe:

Richard Caseby, Managing Editor of The Sun, is leaving after 24 years with News International. @rupertmurdoch statement praises his loyalty.