The Washington Post is undergoing a makeover on its main page, aiming for a turnaround.
The facelift is a vital component of Post publisher and CEO Will Lewis's strategy to improve the publication's financial situation, working on behalf of owner Jeff Bezos. This year, the Post is expected to suffer a loss of approximately $50 million, which is a decrease from last year's $77 million loss, but the outcome is still disappointing.
Lewis is under pressure to regain paying subscribers and return the Post to profitability, a goal he claims to be making headway on. In his weekly announcement to Post employees on Friday evening, Lewis deemed the updated homepage an "essential move forward."
Journalists and editors at the news organization have consistently complained about the dull and outdated appearance of the Post's digital entrance. Some common complaints included the limited number of stories featured on the homepage and its lack of unity. Staff members frequently admired the homepages of competitors like The New York Times. Lewis acknowledged these criticisms in his message.
"Many of you have expressed your dislike of the previous version," he wrote. "I agreed and urged you to improve it, and you did just that."
The new version, introduced last week, is the starting point for several forthcoming enhancements, according to newly appointed executive editor Matt Murray in a note to the newsroom.
The new homepage now provides double the space for top stories — featuring six spots rather than three — a highly appreciated change.
"Section editors had been battling to get their stories into those three featured slots, leading to a lot of frustration," a Post reporter explained.
As part of the redesign, Opinion pieces have been relocated to a more prominent position on the page, while some sections such as "Help Desk" and "Technology" have been eliminated. Employees anticipate additional upgrades in the coming months.
Many individuals discover Post journalism through alternative routes like social media accounts and email newsletters, but the entrance has become significantly more important as social networks reduce the flow of traffic and Google incorporates AI into its search results. More pressingly, at the Post, the homepage redesign signifies that the new management team is swiftly implementing substantial changes.
During the summer, the paper also launched a new promotional campaign that reinforced its "Democracy Dies in Darkness" slogan with the catchphrase "Switch On," with the goal of stimulating growth at the newspaper.
Lewis assumed the position of publisher and CEO in January and didn't shy away from discussing the Post's troubled state. His recovery plan was embraced by many staffers, but morale took a dip in the spring when allegations resurfaced about his role in covering up a UK phone hacking scandal (he has denied any wrongdoing).
While Lewis hasn't fully regained his footing, he has utilized his weekly announcements to highlight progress in expanding the Post's subscriber base. Last week, Lewis announced, "We had our highest net growth week of the year for subscriptions, and this ongoing growth is the result of great teamwork across the company."
A Post spokesperson declined to disclose the current number of digital subscribers. The most recent publicly disclosed figure was 2.7 million.
Lewis believed that improving the Post's business strategy, including the redesign of the media-related homepage, would attract more paying subscribers and boost the publication's revenue, aligning with owner Jeff Bezos's goals.
The redesign of the Post's homepage, a key component of Lewis's strategy, received praise from journalists and employees, as it increased the visibility of Opinion pieces and provided more spaces for top stories, making it more competitive with other media outlets.
