Washington Post, Newsweek, Boston Globe Sell: We’ve Been Here Before

The big business news of the week is the announcement that Jeff Bezos, of Amazon fame, has bought The Washington Post. After reading countless articles about the sale, I have concluded that few people are actually fearful of what this means for the Post and are more intrigued by what it means for the Post. Many have saluted Bezos for the purchase and see this as a real wake-up call for the newspaper industry and a Washington, D.C., mainstay.

The sale comes on the heels of other big news about the Boston Globe and Newsweek, both changing ownership hands as well. On the whole, the three publications represent a changing of the guard from traditional media to digital times. Moreover, TIME announced some big news of its own on Monday that it will be undergoing a major redesign this fall and has hired some top notch editors and digital directors to man the ship. Again, this news was well-received and well-regarded among industry leaders and insiders.

Anyone who fears for magazines and newspapers’ futures will continue to do so, regardless of whatever events take place. It’s uncertain territory, but no less uncertain than it was a week ago before any of these announcements came about. This whole saga may play out for the better and challenge everyone to step up and meet the demands of an online audience. It all reminds me of how, several years ago, when the nightly news broadcasts were ushering out their longtime hosts and bringing in some new blood, people worried that this was it for the 6:30 news shows. Some experiments with those chairs did not exactly work out, and today, many people may not be able to name the hosts of those three nightly shows, yet the broadcasts still exist and you can tune in when you wish. If you do, you’ll find that the show looks and feels largely the same as it has for decades. You can argue that’s bad thing, but that’s for another discussion.

We’ll have to wait and see how the Post deal works out. Right now, though, it sounds like Bezos is leaving everything as it is and was, which is a good thing for the staff and for the Post readers. if anything changes in the coming months or years at the Post that may not be an indication of what Bezos wants, rather what the Post community wants and needs from its local news outlet. After all, that’s who everyone is answering to, including Bezos.