{"id":656013,"date":"2013-05-03T10:20:32","date_gmt":"2013-05-03T14:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paidcontent.org\/?p=228880"},"modified":"2013-05-03T10:20:32","modified_gmt":"2013-05-03T14:20:32","slug":"losses-mount-at-washington-post-ahead-of-summer-paywall-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/656013","title":{"rendered":"Losses mount at Washington Post ahead of summer paywall plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Washington Post Company posted bleak quarterly earnings<\/a> on Friday.\u00a0The newspaper division saw an operating loss of $34.5 million, newspaper division revenue fell four percent from a year ago, and while online revenue was up the entire company barely eked out a profit.<\/p>\n

While most of the losses arose as a result of pension and restructuring expenses, the company’s core business remains distressed. Print advertising revenues fell 8 percent, and while circulation declined by seven percent. A small bright spot comes in the form of a 16 percent increase in online display advertising at a time when such revenue is flat or falling at other newspapers.<\/p>\n

While the Washington Post’s earnings reflect a familiar story of the declining newspaper business, they are particularly discouraging because the paper does not appear to have a turnaround plan on the horizon. While the New York Times<\/em> has been experimenting<\/a> with its digital paywall for over a year, and now has plans to create different pricing tiers<\/a>, the Post’s plan to raise online digital subscription revenue remains amorphous. The company plans to launch a paywall this summer, but the model appears so leaky<\/a> that it is unlikely to bring in significant money any time soon.<\/p>\n

At the same time, while the New York Times has cut away all its non-core assets to focus on the flagship brand, the Washington Post Company is also figuring out how to turn around Kaplan, its troubled education segment.<\/p>\n

Correction: The first paragraph of this post was updated to correct descriptions of profit and loss.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:<\/strong>
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial<\/a>.<\/p>\n