海角大神

There was shock and sadness in Washington Monday afternoon as headlines marked: 鈥淎n era to end as Post is sold.鈥�

Word that, after 80 years, the Graham family would part with the crown jewel of its empire 鈥� the storied but struggling Washington Post 鈥� to the tune of rocked the city. The news that the buyer is Amazon.com鈥檚 Jeff Bezos, who despite his documented genius as an Internet commerce entrepreneur has no experience in traditional print journalism, sent politicos and scribes into analysis overdrive.

Does this transition provide a glaring sign of the nearing end for print, the demise of which has been heralded for at least a decade as other city papers have been sold by devoted family dynasties to journalism novices whose focus is the bottom line? Or, once the obituaries of the Post 鈥榓s we knew it鈥� are processed, might there be a silver lining here?

Opinions are mixed.

鈥淏ezos re-Kindles hope at WaPo,鈥� wrote Politico.

The Atlantic called the sale, 鈥淎 moment that will define an era鈥檚 upheaval in journalism.鈥�

In the hours after the announcement, shares of the Washington Post Co. climbed to $599.85, their highest level in almost five years, . A glimmer of hope.

What seems to be consensus across these and other diagnoses, and is reflected in the market鈥檚 response, is that the paper, as it was, would not have lasted. It was hemorrhaging cash and losing readers. Growth in advertising revenue proved elusive. And while the Grahams had over the years sought to boost the company鈥檚 portfolio by acquiring other money makers 鈥� notably the test preparation outfit Kaplan Inc. 鈥� it wasn鈥檛 enough to offset red ink since 2008 from the newspaper division.

Physically, the paper was downsized. . And a refocus on online traffic became paramount. No shock here, the whole industry is facing the same reality, and, though far from extinct, enterprise stories, elegant long-form works, and overseas reporting have begun to be eclipsed by blogging and vlogging and the quest for more and more content at a lower cost.

Still, of course, the paper that took down a president broke big news stories 鈥� recently making its mark in reports on the government鈥檚 domestic surveillance programs 鈥� and won prizes. All while it has faced challenges from newer, faster outlets, such as Washington rival Politico, to stay ahead on the city鈥檚 political news stories.

The announcement came as a surprise to staff. acknowledgements that for Donald Graham, chairman and chief executive of Post Co., and Katharine Weymouth, the paper鈥檚 publisher, options were limited.

鈥淓veryone who was in that room knows how much Don and Katharine love the paper and how hard this must have been for them,鈥� said David Ignatius, a veteran Post columnist.

Mr. Bezos聽鈥� who is buying the paper himself, it will not be part of the Amazon empire 鈥� has proved a master of reinvention, expansion, and foresight. Once, buying books online seemed a foreign process, but now, in large measure because of Bezos, we click many of our purchases instead of strolling into the neighborhood store.聽He also has a record at Amazon of investing for the long term, even in the face of sustained losses.

Bezos acknowledged the 鈥渁pprehension鈥� the staff must feel and assured Posties that the paper鈥檚 values 鈥渄o not need changing.鈥�

鈥淭he paper鈥檚 duty will remain to its readers and not the private interests of its owners,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e will continue to follow the truth wherever it leads, and we鈥檒l work hard not to make mistakes.鈥�

But Bezos plans to stay in Seattle, and he says he will not lead the day-to-day operations of the paper. He is keeping the current management team, which includes Ms. Weymouth and editor Marty Baron, in place. How long that will last is anyone鈥檚 guess.

Shouldn鈥檛 an owner live and breathe the city in which the publication is rooted? Isn鈥檛 that part of the grand history of this and other vibrant outlets, that its leaders understand the news and feel invested in its coverage because it鈥檚 happening around them?

The purchase also represents less than 1 percent of Bezos鈥� wealth; Forbes estimates his net worth at $28 billion. Hardly an all-in, do-or-die proposition for the businessman. The Post, meanwhile, is in its seventh consecutive year of declining revenues. The Grahams needed a golden parachute for the publication, a chance at rebirth without the massive cost-cutting required, even if the path forward with Bezos at the helm seems wholly uncertain.

What then is ? How important will it be to make money over the long haul? Is this a vanity exercise, a side investment that gives him influence in Washington? Under his guide, how will the paper cover the , from tax policy and privacy concerns to trade to worker issues?聽

All important questions whose answers aren鈥檛 yet apparent.

Bezos is the second business tycoon of late to dip a toe into the news business. Word came just last weekend Boston Red Sox owner John Henry purchased The Boston Globe from The New York Times Company for $70 million. Financier Warren Buffett, who served on the Post's board for more than two decades, purchased the Omaha World-Herald in 2011.

But reporters in other newsrooms might caution against the billionaire solution as cure-all, even as other options for survival seem untenable. Real estate magnate Sam Zell is widely regarded as having run the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune publications into the ground after he bought the Tribune Co. They are functioning, but shadows of their former selves after being mired in bankruptcy proceedings for years.

The Post deal will be finalized within 60 days, according to the paper鈥檚 reporting. In Washington and across the industry, those interested in the survival of print or, more realistically, its evolution into a viable new media provider of quality journalism will be watching closely what happens at the paper. For those who care about meaningful reporting and storytelling, Bezos must prove himself able to make money without sacrificing those key markers of the Post鈥檚 legacy to date.

A cyber-age steward of an old media giant. The match hasn鈥檛 worked out in other venues yet. But here鈥檚 hoping it might.