The Washington Post’s B2B reset

The Washington Post’s positioning has to be around not just telling you what happened but focusing on what it means and what to do about it. Focus on the outcomes of policy — the indispensable guide to power and policy outcomes — and what they mean for global business decisions.”

Imtiaz Patel, a media executive who has led growth, digital innovation and revenue strategy across major news organizations

A few days after the most recent downsizing at The Washington Post and the departure of its CEO, I visited the paper and was given a tour of the offices. You can feel the immense history in those corridors, but also the profound sadness of what has become of this incredible institution.

The people who are there still believe in the mission and want to uphold their journalism standards and traditions. Where they stand now was the natural outcome of poor executive decisions that go back many years, some strategic and some not grasping the reality of the underlying business, and how they missed an opportunity.

There’s a prevailing sense that the decline of legacy news organizations is inevitable. But that misses the success of the likes of The New York Times, Dow Jones, Bloomberg and The Financial Times (The FT). They have shown that not only is there sustainability, but also growth to be had by leaning into the essence of who you are and who your audience is. At some point, The Post decided to lean into becoming a software company, and while ARC is a notable success, the core business of The Washington Post is journalism and proximity to the global policy center.

Is it too late? I don’t think so. I know I am an eternal optimist, but I truly believe there is a solution to every problem. The losses being suffered for years take a particular skill, and a reset was required. The cost had to be brought into line, but from here, with a focused approach, they can move forward.

So, what’s the answer? While I believe there is a significant consumer business, this isn’t the answer. They can grow their subscription business, leverage AI and continue doing what they have been doing to increase subscriptions and average revenue per user (ARPU). They are building a strong base that will be essential for stabilizing the organization and moving forward. Anything they do must be built on a strong core — their journalism that appeals to a large consumer audience. But the real opportunity is to build a major B2B business that leans into that core, grounded in their presence in Washington.

The first step is to focus the business. They should spin off or sell the ARC business. While it is probably profitable and has revenue in the $40- $50M range, it’s a distraction and has limited upside. A sale would provide much-needed capital to reinvest in the core business. The Washington Post must be about journalism at its core and about informing the world about what’s going on in its backyard.

Journalism is about information. But we need to go beyond just telling people what happened. People and organizations will pay for information that helps them make better decisions, manage their risks and identify opportunities. That’s the business they should be building. Bloomberg, The FT and Dow Jones have built great businesses around market and business information. The Washington Post should be building it around the seat of power in Washington. They already have some of the pieces. And yes, POLITICO has built a business around this. They have proven there is a market. Just because POLITICO has done it already, it doesn’t mean The Post can’t. They just must be better at it. The Washington Post’s positioning has to be around not just telling you what happened but focusing on what it means and what to do about it. Focus on the outcomes of policy — the indispensable guide to power and policy outcomes — and what they mean for global business decisions. Make The Post Intelligence the nucleus, but explicitly frame it as policy outcomes and business impact, not just “insights.”

1. Start small, focusing on a few areas that meet certain criteria:

• Are complex policy areas
• There is a willingness to pay
• There is a high frequency of developments

2. Create premium B2B Intelligence products — a base product focused on reporting and insights, and a premium tier focused on outcomes, with a commensurate price tag.
3. Build workflow tools and dashboards that enable companies to access data and create briefs, datasets, trackers, etc., which they can use in their own workflows to inform and make decisions.
4. Build a comprehensive dataset supporting the areas of focus: All the data that is relevant, distributed and hard to access in one place, with tools to create custom reports
5. Continue building the events business around these focus areas, bringing together decision-makers with policymakers.
6. Create an Intelligence team focused on developing deep analytical reports and insights with a clear path to action.

This will require a mindset shift, thinking more like a B2B business but without losing its essence as a news publication. By drastically cutting costs, they’ve refocused the business and set it up for success.

Continue to invest in the core news operation, but in a focused manner that aligns with the focus areas in The Washington Post Intelligence. Without a strong journalism core, this won’t work.

Imtiaz Patel is a media executive who has led growth, digital innovation and revenue strategy across major news organizations. As chief consumer officer at Gannett, he oversaw consumer revenue and marketing for USA TODAY and 200+ local publications. As CEO of The Baltimore Banner, he built a digital-first newsroom from scratch, reaching 60K subscribers and $10M in year-one revenue. He previously held leadership roles at Dow Jones and has advised publishers like The Philadelphia Inquirer. Based in New York, Imtiaz is passionate about the arts, food and Liverpool FC. He can be reached at imtiazp99@gmail.com.