The Rebooting Show The Washington Post’s Turnaround Plan
In the wake of Jeff Bezos buying The Washington Post in 2013 and the heady “Democracy Dies in Darkness” days following the 2016 election, The Washington Post was considered a credible rival to The New York Times. That’s no longer the case. New CEO Will Lewis is embarking on a turnaround at the Post, which lost $77 million last year. As Lewis put it, “We are in a hole, and we have been for some time.” On this week’s episode, Matt Cronin, founding partner of House of Kaizen, joins to discuss the Post’s strategy as laid out by Lewis.
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00:00 Introduction and Breaking News
01:00 Challenges Facing the Washington Post
02:20 Industry-Wide Transitions
03:51 Engagement and Product Strategy
05:49 Podcast Introduction and Format
06:12 Will Lewis's Turnaround Plan
09:29 Subscription Models and Audience Segmentation
22:13 Historical Context and Missed Opportunities
28:06 Peak Subscription Debate
31:47 The Paradox of Choice in Consumer Behavior
35:52 Volume vs. Value in Subscription Models
42:09 Challenges of Subscription Tiers
46:40 B2B Opportunities for News Organizations
51:59 Microtransactions in Media