Washington Post sets a date for merging print and online

Posted by Emma Heald on September 18, 2009 at 10:57 AM

The Washington Post is to merge its print and online operations as of January 1 2010, reported the Washington Business Journal, which obtained a copy of a memo sent to WaPo staff by publisher Katharine Weymouth. Weymouth outlined how important it was to create one organisation for print and online, as this was how it was perceived by readers, users and advertisers.

She specified that Washington Post Digital employees responsible for washingtonpost.com would become employees of The Washington Post as of January 1. Website leadership with remain in place, however, and current washingtonpost.com leader Goli Sheikholeslami would become general manager of digital, and vice president of digital product development at the Washington Post.

Separate digital advertising and marketing departments will be created at the Post, coordinating with their colleagues in print. "This will enable both the sales and marketing teams to continue to concentrate on providing digital and mobile advertising solutions and creating new online marketplaces," Weymouth said in the memo.

PaidContent's Staci D. Kramer offers further details on the planned shift. A WaPo spokeswoman told her that the merger will not lead to staff cuts and that all staff with work in downtown Washington when integration has been completed, moving the website newsroom from Arlington. Kramer also pointed out that such a merger has been anticipated since Weymouth's promotion to publisher and CEO in 2008. A memo sent to staff from editor Marcus Brauchli in April outlined preliminary organisational changes, and the paper's adoption of the Methode system in June was seen as a definite indication that newsroom integration was on its way.

Integration of print and online operations is increasingly becoming the norm for newspapers across the US and UK, and to some extent in the rest of the world. The Guardian famously integrated its newsrooms in December, accompanied by a move to a brand new building, El Pais took the step in March and in Tampa, Florida, Media General's outlets have moved further towards a completely converged newsroom.

Source: Washington Business Journal, paidContent