Graham said he had been a "massive Amazon customer" at the time when he was searching for a new owner for The Washington Post and his first impression after talking to Bezos in those initial conversations is "how well that company worked.
There was a time when people were saying Amazon was overpriced, that it was going to go bankrupt," Graham told Poppy Harlow in an exclusive interview for the CNN documentary "The Age of Amazon. Listen to the podcast here:. Bezos' focus on the long-term is probably the reason why some of his business ventures are nothing short of moonshots: from transforming first the publishing industry, then commerce as a whole through Amazon; to starting Blue Origin, an aerospace exploration company whose motto reads "Step by Step, Ferociously.
Read More. Bezos' talent for technology was also appealing to Graham, he said, because the greatest obstacle the Graham family faced in future-proofing the Post was their lack of know-how.
How would you go about trying to adapt it to the digital age? He sought out Bezos, though, because he was "smart, sensible and not full of himself" and because his most successful venture, Amazon, was a business built on books. Graham hoped that Bezos would be able to help transform the Post from a local print-focused publication to a globally recognized digital brand. Graham was right. Bezos has also invested forty-two million dollars into the construction of a clock designed to run for ten thousand years.
There are, of course, concerns with this transaction. Amazon could stand to gain from its C. But the fairest way to look at the deal is to see it as something done by a man who is attempting to completely change the way people and corporations distribute, purchase, and consume practically everything—and who wants to send humans into space en masse.
Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile. Log out. US Markets Loading H M S In the news. Eugene Kim. Bezos initially wasn't sure if he wanted buy the Post. But after a couple meetings with former owner Don Graham, Bezos became intrigued. Bezos isn't involved in setting The Post's editorial direction at all. But he's taken a more hands-on approach on the business and technology sides to reinvent the paper as a "media and technology company.
Under Bezos, The Post has revamped its website and mobile apps. It also created software called "Arc," which gives better analytics and marketing features for the publication. The issue persists as other media properties, like Fortune and Sports Illustrated , are still searching for a buyer. When Graham initially proposed to Bezos that he buy the Post , Bezos was disinclined. It was only after he realized he had something to offer that he decided to do it. F ollow Stephanie Denning on Twitter: stephdenning.
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