About this episode
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 News 01:00 Challenges Facing the Washington Post 02:20 Industry-Wide Transitions 03:51 Engagement and Product Strategy 05:49 Podcast Introduction and Format 06:12 Will Lewis's Turnaround Plan 09:29 Subscription Models and Audience Segmentation 22:13 Historical Context and Missed Opportunities 28:06 Peak Subscription Debate 31:47 The Paradox of Choice in Consumer Behavior 35:52 Volume vs. Value in Subscription Models 42:09 Challenges of Subscription Tiers 46:40 B2B Opportunities for News Organizations 51:59 Microtransactions in Media