D.C. mystery: Bezos' plan for The Washington Post

Jeff Bezos rarely visits The Washington Post.

His most recent trip to the nation’s capital, on Sept. 17, was for a press conference about Blue Origin, his spaceflight startup. He doesn’t keep an office at the Post’s headquarters, on 15th Street, and he doesn’t much care for hobnobbing with the D.C. media establishment. Every few months he meets face-to-face with the Post leadership, but these gatherings usually take place 3,000 miles outside the Beltway, in his hometown of Seattle.

Meanwhile, the Post, far from embarking on the radical reinvention that many thought Bezos would bring, remains more old school than cutting edge. Its executive editor, Martin Baron, is the epitome of the 20th-century newspaperman. Its new publisher, former POLITICO CEO Fred Ryan, is a fixture of the old Washington scene. The paper has hired a whopping 100 staffers this year, but few among them are marquee names. It has launched several new blogs, but few have drawn much notice. The homepage could use a redesign.

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One year after his acquisition — Bezos purchased the Post from the Graham family, for $250 million, a year ago today, on Oct. 1, 2013 — media analysts remain puzzled by his decision to buy the paper. There has been no major digital innovation, no radical new product launch, no change to delivery or presentation, and no promise of any specific plans for the future.

Moreover, while Bezos is very engaged in his Amazon empire — dreaming up plans like drone delivery — and his spaceflight startup, he seems to treat the Post more like an ornament, in need of minimal polishing. And not all of his contributions have been positive for employees: In September, the Post announced that it would eliminate medical retirement benefits and end benefit pensions for nonunion workers, while seeking to do the same for union employees. The Post reporter who relayed that information to the public called it “one of the first indications of how The Post’s new owner… will manage relations with the staff of the news organization.”

While there are many in the Post newsroom who say that Bezos’ financial backing has put new wind at the paper’s back, there are others who have been left underwhelmed by the tech guru’s inability to radically transform the paper into an innovative digital product. The disappointment at the Post, several sources there agreed, is best described as the feeling of being promised a flying car and receiving only a glow-in-the-dark keychain.

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Baron brushes off the once-lofty expectations. “I have a sneaking suspicion that we’re not going to be delivering The Washington Post by drone,” he said in an interview, alluding to Amazon’s ambitious delivery plans. “Not everything needs to be invented or initiated. We can bring additional value through fine reporting and fine writing.”

Other Post staffers celebrated Bezos’ contributions. “The Post is the single most exciting media company to work for in the country right now,” said Chris Cillizza, the political blogger. “We’re owned by a billionaire who has revolutionized digital commerce and wants to revolutionize digital journalism. There’s a unique opportunity here to do something special. I am thrilled to be a part of it.”

“The place has been growing. New colleagues have come on board. At how many daily newspapers can you say that?” asked Erik Wemple, the Post’s media critic. “As time goes on, there are of course no guarantees whatsoever. So budgets could well tighten really fast. But I think that people were banking on Bezos’ using his resources and his know-how to take a shot at reviving a troubled business model. He has already done that, and that’s the most you can ask in this business.”

Still, several Post staffers, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity, voiced doubts.

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“We’ve staffed up in a major way, which is reassuring, but I’m not sure anyone knows where that leads,” one reporter said. “What are we doing that’s different? What are we bringing to the table? I’m not sure we’ve figured that out yet.”

“He’s brought us two things you can only wish for: Lots of money and a general hands-off news policy,” said another. “No idea what the long-term biz strategy is, but we haven’t figured it out yet. So, thanks for all the ‘runway’ boss. We’re still taxiing.”

“It’s a lot of wait and see,” said yet another. “That’s OK, but only up to a point.”

Despite expectations, Bezos himself had never promised a reinvention. “There is no map, and charting a path ahead will not be easy,” he wrote in his first memo to Post staff in August of last year. Still, his reputation preceded him: With Amazon, he had revolutionized not just the book-selling business but the very means and standards of online shopping. He was planning ambitious new initiatives like drone delivery. Surely, this man had the silver bullet to save the Washington Post, and perhaps the newspaper industry....