“There is no map, and charting a path ahead will not be easy. We will need to invent, which means we will need to experiment.”
That was Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, in the letter he wrote to Washington Post employees upon agreeing to personally acquire the 136-year-old newspaper in August 2013. He acknowledged they might have apprehensions about the historic transfer of ownership, and most of his missive was dedicated to reassuring them that the company would remain dedicated to serving readers even in a time of head-snapping change for the business of journalism.
More than four years later, it’s clear that Bezos was true to his word. But the invention and experimentation that’s happened at the Post has included a side project which is a major departure from the company’s traditional comfort zone.
Since 2014, a new Post operation now called Arc Publishing has offered the publishing system the company originally used for WashingtonPost.com as a service. That allows other news organizations to use the Post’s tools for writers and editors. Arc also shoulders the responsibility of ensuring that readers get a snappy, reliable experience when they visit a site on a PC or mobile device. It’s like a high-end version of Squarespace or WordPress.com, tailored to solve the content problems of a particular industry.
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