"The biggest tech story dominating Washington right now is, incidentally, a media story. Last week, shortly after The Washington Post laid off 400 staffers and closed many of its desks, and before its absentee CEO Will Lewis got summarily shoved out, I wrote a column trying to figure out whether there was even a cynical, self-interested reason that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos continued to own the Post: Was it to support journalism, make money, or suck up to Donald Trump?"
"This weekend I learned of a discussion that would have both saved the Post money and supported several journalists, but never went through: After it was reported in late January that the Post was eyeing the elimination of the sports desk, the Washington City Paper, a renowned newspaper with deep roots in DC, had offered to purchase both the Post's sports and local sections, thereby keeping those journalists employed."
"Sources close to the discussion said Mark Ein, the owner of the City Paper and a part owner of the Washington Commanders, had approached then-CEO Lewis weeks ago with a proposal: They could instead spin sports and local into a separate entity that the City Paper would then invest in and host on its platform. (News organizations selling off sections and IPs is not an unheard-of phenomenon.)"
The Washington Post laid off 400 staffers and closed multiple desks while absentee CEO Will Lewis was summarily removed. Jeff Bezos's ownership of the Post prompted questions about motives including supporting journalism, making money, or influencing politics. Mark Ein, owner of the Washington City Paper and part-owner of the Washington Commanders, proposed purchasing the Post's sports and local sections and spinning them into a separate entity hosted on the City Paper's platform. Lewis was reportedly receptive, but discussions ended when the Post closed those sections and laid off the journalists, including sports reporters amid the Winter Olympics and before the Super Bowl.
Read at The Verge
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