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.Skip to topic:00:00 Introduction and Breaking News01:00 Challenges Facing the Washington Post02:20 Industry-Wide Transitions03:51 Engagement and Product Strategy05:49 Podcast Introduction and Format06:12 Will Lewis's Turnaround Plan09:29 Subscription Models and Audience Segmentation22:13 Historical Context and Missed Opportunities28:06 Peak Subscription Debate31:47 The Paradox of Choice in Consumer Behavior35:52 Volume vs. Value in Subscription Models42:09 Challenges of Subscription Tiers46:40 B2B Opportunities for News Organizations51:59 Microtransactions in Media