Oh, he's not going to publish The Washington Post. He's just going to hang the company on his office wall.
— @KagroX
@KagroX ... In a frozen block of carbonite
— @DemFromCT
Why did he do it? Clearly to give us something to talk about. Here's some ideas:
Peter Weber:
Nobody knows for sure, but there are several credible theories floating around. Here are the best five.
They're certainly not the best five (e.g. "Bezos wants to save The Washington Post, and maybe journalism"), but there are five, so there's that. Here are some better ones:
Sasha Issenberg:
At Jeff Bezos's Post, Paperboys May Be More Important Than Reporters
A newspaper delivery network solves the last mile problem
Tom Gara/WSJ:
The Washington Post Company is best known for its flagship newspaper title sold today to a company controlled by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, but it makes its big money from less prominent sources: A for-profit education business, cable television, and local TV stations.
But while all these assets have their merits, here is one asset that gets much less attention: its hugely over-funded pension.
Do you think Bezos wants to be president, like Charles Foster Kane?
— @mtomasky
More politics and policy below the fold.
UPDATE via our readers, from Andy Borowitz:
AMAZON FOUNDER SAYS HE CLICKED ON WASHINGTON POST BY MISTAKE
Henry Blodget:
As to the second question, why Jeff Bezos is buying the Washington Post ...
I don't know.
But I'm happy to speculate.
First, I'd guess that Jeff Bezos thinks that owning the Washington Post will be fun, interesting, and cool. And my guess is that, if that is all it ever turns out to be, Jeff Bezos will be fine with that. This is a man who invests in rockets and atomic clocks, after all. He doesn't necessarily make these investments for the money. Or bragging rights. Or strategic synergies.
Second, I'd guess that Jeff Bezos thinks that there are some similarities between the digital news business and his business (e-commerce) that no one in the news business has really capitalized on yet.
Brad Stone:
As I recount in my forthcoming book The Everything Store, the [Amazon] editorial department eventually faded during the dot.com bust amid a direct, acrimonious, internal competition with the algorithms that could more efficiently personalize the website.
Bezos didn’t give up his dream of owning and delivering unique content. With the rise of the Kindle in 2009, he began to create a wide array of publishing imprints that encouraged authors to experiment and sell their wares directly to readers. This is often framed as a competitive attack on traditional publishing—including by us—but programs such as Kindle Singles and Kindle Serials have given writers new way to reach an audience. Departments like Amazon Studios, which is backing television shows, are giving creators freedom and flexibility outside the realm of major television distributors.
Jonathan Salem Baskin:
As people riff about technology, politics, and other ulterior motives why Jeff Bezos just bought the Washington Post, I have an alternate viewpoint: Maybe he just wanted to. If I’m right, he’s a great model for how you might deliver your branding.
Wonkblog:
But Alan Mutter, who knows the media business and the tech world better than most, thinks there are many ways in which buying a legacy newspaper makes all the sense in the world for the Seattle-based billionaire. Bezos hasn’t talked yet about his future plans for the company, but from what we know, it’s fair to speculate a bit.
First of all, don’t be deceived by the fact that Bezos is buying it himself, rather than Amazon–there’s little reason to believe this is a passion project. It just would’ve been tricky to make it a public takeover, because corporations don’t know how to value a newspaper’s future earnings. And besides, though the markets have been remarkably patient with Amazon’s continued losses, a money pit like the Post would’ve been harder to stomach.
“If Jeff Bezos had bought it with Amazon’s money, the shareholders would’ve killed him,” Mutter says. “But if he owns it, he can use all the tools that are available to Amazon. And if he does something with the Washington Post brand that advances the story for Kindle or Amazon Prime, they aren’t going to mind.”
Postscript: do take a look at Bezos'
10,000 year clock.