The contentious 2016 presidential election of President-elect Trump didn’t just help many conservative media outlets cash in but also pushed one major mainstream newspaper into the black: The Washington Post.
A staff memo from the Post’s boss said that the newspaper, owned by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, saw historic web traffic, driven by political coverage and investigative reporting, and that led to better revenues.
“The Washington Post shattered all traffic records over the past year, passing traditional competitors and the largest digital sites. With monthly unique visitors pushing 100 million in the U.S. alone and 30 million more from around the world, our traffic has increased by nearly 50 percent in the past year, extending the reach of Washington Post journalism to a broader national and global audience,” wrote Publisher Fred Ryan.
“On the subscription front, we’ve more than doubled digital subscription revenue in the past 12 months with a 75 percent increase in new subscribers since January. Our sales team has been very effective in monetizing this surge in audience, with special franchises, new products and innovations in the speed and quality of our ads. As a result, digital advertising revenue has increased by more than 40 percent over last year’s record performance,” he added in the memo published by Poynter.
“Not to bury the lede, but thanks to the incredible work of the entire team, The Washington Post will finish this year as a profitable and growing company,” he said.
The memo was not only a Christmas present to the staff but a positive one for the news business.
Ryan said Bezos plans to pour some of the money back into the paper by expanding the news staff that covers Trump and other top stories. Expansions will be in investigative and breaking news reporting.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
