AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke
Former Washington Post journalist Kara Swisher is quietly lining up her wealthy friends for what she admits is a long-shot effort: buying the newspaper she used to work for.
Though the paper’s current owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has shown no sign of entertaining a sale, Swisher is convinced he may one day want out — and she hopes to be ready when that moment arrives.
As Swisher sees it, the Post is at a crossroads. She told Axios: “The Post can do better. It’s so maddening to see what’s happening… Why not me? Why not any of us?”
Her plan, reportedly discussed with a former banking associate, involves assembling a consortium of well-heeled, civic-minded investors who would reinvigorate the storied newspaper while charting a fresh path toward digital sustainability.
This ambition is rooted in Swisher’s past employment with the Post. She started out in its mailroom, later became one of its earliest tech reporters, and then moved on to the Wall Street Journal, where she cemented her reputation as a pioneering Silicon Valley chronicler.
Over the years, Swisher has watched the Post struggle with internal management issues and wrestle with the broader challenges facing the media industry. She believes Bezos’s other interests — from aerospace ventures to a vast portfolio of personal and financial endeavors — leave insufficient room for the level of focus the Post deserves.
Several observers in media circles have noted Swisher’s interest in spearheading a bid that journalist Oliver Darcy first reported in his newsletter Status.
Now, conversations with potential backers have begun, though there are no guarantees. Should the paper hit the market, there would likely be an intense bidding war, attracting private equity powerhouses and rival billionaires.
“Hopefully not Elon,” Swisher said, “though he seems pretty busy these days being President (Not) Elect.”
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