News commentary

Why is the Washington Post cratering so spectacularly?

The Guardian - Media · Margaret Sullivan · last updated

To understand the change in Washington Post’s fortunes, it is worth comparing its demise to the New York Times’s trajectory

Not so long ago – it’s been less than a decade – the New York Times and the Washington Post were almost neck and neck in the race for readers, reputation and scoops. The Times was always bigger, but the two were somewhat comparable.

These days, that’s far from reality. The Post has been declining in influence, newsroom staff and financial health – losing at least $100m a year – while the Times is on an astonishing upward trajectory, with operating profit approaching $200m annually.

 

Related stories

Related Knowledge Center: Washington Post mortem

State of Play

The Washington Post is shedding both staff and subscribers — but making friends in the White House — as its owner, Jeff Bezos, remakes its opinion pages and lops off major areas of coverage.


More informationabout Washington Post mortem

Related Knowledge Center: Inside the newsroom

State of Play

As newsrooms struggle with rickety business models and precarious finances — as well as new technologies —  they are deploying an array of editorial responses. 

The Times and its critics  |  Washington Post mortem    


More informationabout Inside the newsroom

Related Knowledge Center: State of the business model

State of Play

The traditional journalism business model has long since collapsed, and news organizations have shrunk or disappeared entirely. While a number of promising experiments are under way, the public has not shown a willingness to buy what news organizations are selling.

Artificial intelligence


More informationabout State of the business model