MEDIA LOSER:
Fred Ryan The Washington Post is set to lose money in 2022 following profitable years, according to a report from the New York Times' Benjamin Mullin and Katie Robertson.
The Post, helmed by CEO Fred Ryan,reportedly has less than three million paying digital subscribers, a number they once boasted about internally near the end of 2020.
The report highlights that the outlet's dropoff has caused frustration among the staff, as some top executives are concerned that Ryan, "hasn’t moved decisively enough to expand coverage."
"Some have also become irritated by the company’s halting marketing efforts, which are guided by Mr. Ryan, and inconclusive talks about acquiring another large news organization," the report added.
Digital ad revenue generated by the Post also fell to roughly $70 million during the first half of the year, according to the Times, which obtained and reviewed an internal financial document.
The report noted frustration over Ryan's focus on "building The Post’s capacity for covering new areas rather than acquiring rivals," and his decision to cut some of the paper's marketing campaigns.
Mullin and Robertson also reported that Ryan suggested newsroom leaders cut "100 positions, according to several people with knowledge of the discussions,” by “hiring freezes for open jobs or other ways.”
A Post spokesperson denied this.
Ryan has essentially failed to lead a profitable paper in a post-Trump era, while both the Times and Wall Street Journal have continued to gain paying subscribers. | 