Is the Washington Post going after WSJ subscribers?

The New York Times Dealbook newsletter examines whether the change in editorial page focus at the Washington Post by owner Jeff Bezos means it wants to attract readers from The Wall Street Journal.

Dealbook writes, “Bezos is working on changing the paper’s business strategy, and the editorial page shift could be seen as an appeal to Journal readers. The Journal editorial even took a jab at Bezos in its kicker: ‘Sample the competition but come back for the real thing.’

“There’s a limited market for news subscribers, who tend to be left-leaning. Look at total newspaper circulation, which stands at about 20 million (print and digital combined) in the U.S., down sharply from a peak of over 60 million in the 1990s, according to Pew. The Times has more than 11 million global subscribers. The Journal has more than 4 million subscriptions. The Post has 2.5 million. Most people tend to just pay for one news subscription.

“In other words, there’s very little headroom. Digital distribution has turned the news business into a winner-take-all proposition: Every subscriber The Times or The Journal gains tends to be one The Post likely loses.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.