Bezos takes the Reigns of a New Challenge

Adapt or die. It is a simple business phrase, yet so effective in encapsulating the shift of ownership of The Washington Post to Amazon.com founder Jeffrey P. Bezos. After a lucrative career starting and expanding the well-known online shopping community, Bezos has decided to take on the challenge of jump-starting the renowned, but struggling newspaper.

Critics of the ownership change are wary of Bezos’ lack of experience in the news industry, and worry he will change the political watchdog direction of the Post simply by moving to a more online format.

It is difficult to believe Bezos would have such interest in a $250 million purchase if he had no preplanned vision or fresh ideas for a currently stale news format. While it has been noted this purchase is not a great financial risk for the billionaire, is it foolhardy to believe this is a uncommitted decision, especially considering the faith in the sale by the Graham family, previous owners of the Post and noted for their belief of the importance of a newspaper with a strong backbone.

Meanwhile, the concern over moving the Post more wholeheartedly online and losing political clout is a popular one, but this should be addressed regardless of new ownership. The future of news is online, and this is no longer a topic of debate. In a survey conducted by Pew Research, 39 percent of responders stated they got their news online in 2012, a significant increase from 24 percent in 2004. The issues with news agencies, and specifically newspapers, today are how to distribute content online, and how to profit from it. Print advertising revenue decreased from $44.9 billion in 2003 to $18.9 billion in 2012, but online advertising revenue in 2012 was only $3.4 billion, according to Pew. With such a need for increased revenue, it is difficult to come up with a stronger candidate to lead this charge than a businessman with such an impressive track record in barrier-breaking online vending and formatting.