We don’t consider ourselves a job placement service, and the Washington Post certainly doesn’t need our help but we wanted to point out something important in the business of journalism. The Washington Post is hiring foreign correspondents in Brazil and West Africa. But here’s the point: two reporters in far-flung outposts may not seem like a big deal but The two hires will bring to more than 30 the number of foreign correspondents working for The Post.
The @washingtonpost will again expand its Foreign coverage in 2019, this time by adding correspondents in Brazil and West Africa. The Post’s foreign-based reporting staff will soon number 30 correspondents in 22 locations outside the United States. https://t.co/FMF8tWROFv
— Douglas Jehl (@jehld) December 3, 2018
From the Post’s PR department:
“The Washington Post will again expand its Foreign coverage in 2019, this time by adding correspondents in Brazil and West Africa. This is the latest step in an expansion that also added correspondents in Mexico, Rome and Hong Kong in 2018. The Post’s foreign-based reporting staff will soon number 30 correspondents in 22 locations outside the United States, the largest in the news organization’s history.
“The Post’s widening global footprint reflects a commitment to delivering distinctive, penetrating and revelatory journalism to a growing worldwide audience that includes digital-only subscribers in 170 countries.”
Having a billionaire for an owner doesn’t hurt, but the success of the post is much more than Amazon and Jeff Bezos. And it’s also more than Donald Trump, although (irony of ironies) he should receive a good chunk of the credit for journalism’s rise. But The Post has embraced the digital age and has transformed itself into one of the world’s most innovative media companies. This is from Fast Company:
“While digital media companies may seem to be on the forefront of newsroom innovation, traditional journalism organizations are also experimenting with business models and taking real risks. The Washington Post, a venerated publication dating back over a century, is looking more and more like a technology-first media company. Traffic-wise, the Post has been consistently eclipsing records—in November 2016, it exceeded 100 million unique online visitors. The company has also been investing in technology to bolster its reportage. It launched a variety of new software to get its content into the world, including an in-house testing product, new ad offerings, and tools to help reporters and editors act faster around breaking news. In September 2017, the Washington Post revealed that it had signed up more than 1 million digital-only subscribers, up 300% in just a year.”
And that means real money that allows The Post to hire real reporters all over the world. The digital subscription model for The Washington Post, The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal and other outlets is working, and we’re all benefiting.