Taking a Proactive Long View

One of the biggest news stories in the Washington, DC area this week is about the news itself — the sale of the national news icon, The Washington Post. It’s generally recognized that print news media has been under intense pressure for many years, largely due to the digital revolution. The Graham family who controlled the Post had been working to transform the business, but struggling to meet quarterly and current year financial performance expectations of the shareholders. Often transformation and near term financial performance don’t mix well. The Graham family began questioning whether they were on the right track, whether there was a better ownership structure. They said they could have survived for a long time, but they wanted to do better than merely survive. Their review of potential options resulted in a fast-moving deal with Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com and one of the biggest names in digital era successes. But, equally important to the Grahams was the fact that Bezos had a long established track record for taking the long view, having patience, and being willing to incur risks and short term dips in performance along the way toward long term growth. So, despite the family’s 80 year control and love affair with the paper, they chose to let it go — to place it in good hands that share their own news reporting values, while also possessing digital era prowess, a long view, and the patience and financial means to get there. The Grahams could have survived for a long time. But, they took the long view and took proactive steps, while they had the luxury of time and latitude to maneuver, to place The Washington Post on what we all hope will be a healthier future course.