Washington sets up its nets

By the end of the 70s, evening newspapers ceased to exist in America. Americans moved to the suburbs, which meant getting home later, and delivering newspapers became a much longer process. Meanwhile, large television companies were growing rapidly. After reading the morning newspaper, the American went to work, and when he returned, he sat down to watch the TV. Evening newspapers could not withstand the competition and were closed one after another.

More than 20 years later, the newspaper is regaining its lost positions. True, now she claims her rights not to the evening time, but to the lunch time - more precisely, lunch time.

In September 1999, The Washington Post began publishing an additional afternoon newspaper called PM Extra ("Emergency at Noon"), which is published every day at exactly 12 noon - on the Internet. By noon, the Internet is experiencing a large influx of users: Americans spend their lunch break sitting at their desk, munching on a sandwich and taking advantage of the company's leased line. This is where the enterprising Washington Post catches him up, offering the latest news in PM Extra. The online special consists of about ten messages, 3-4 paragraphs long, more like wire service dispatches than newspaper articles.

“I used to have to send finished material to the editor by midnight, or even later,” says Washington Post Moscow correspondent David Hoffman. “In Washington, the newspaper arrives at the printing house at 9 pm, so thanks to the time difference, I could not make it in time.” only to follow the development of events in Moscow during the day and get the necessary comments, but also to watch the evening news on TV. And now the requirements for my work have changed dramatically. For example, last Tuesday (April 4. - “Results”) my the editor at 6 pm Moscow time and says: “Can you write for Midday in two hours about an American spy who seems to have been caught in Moscow?” I, of course, wrote it, but managed to send the “real” article with details and comments only well after midnight."

Not only did David Hoffman have more responsibilities, but so did his editor and many other Washington Post employees - now any of them could be asked at any time to work on PM Extra or otherwise help washingtonpost.com. The site has been in existence since mid-1996, publishing the entire 200-page issue of the newspaper every day, and if a journalist manages to get a scoop, it can now be published immediately - without waiting for either the paper version or the midday online edition.

If the visitor wants to expand the impressions of what he read, he can “play” video or audio recordings of relevant events. “For example, this week, when street riots are expected in Washington on the occasion of the IMF meeting (the meeting of shareholders of the IMF and the World Bank opened on April 14 - “Results”), videographers from washingtonpost.com are ready at any moment to rush to the aid of their colleagues - writing reporters " explains PM Extra editor-in-chief Tracy Grant.

By logging into the website washingtonpost.com, you can “wander” through the photo gallery, which contains the work of Washington Post photo reporters over the years. You can read (though for money) any article published in a paper newspaper since 1977; find out how much your shares are currently worth and look at the graph of their price fluctuations recently; look for a job; look for a new home; find out where in the area you can buy the car you have chosen, etc.

In addition, the site offers about ten virtual meetings with journalists and simply interesting people every day. There are authors who communicate with readers regularly (among the most popular are sports columnists, a restaurant critic, and a consultant who gives psychological advice to those under 30).

The record for visiting the site washingtonpost.com was set in February of this year and amounted to 81 million pages viewed in a month. Washingtonpost.com is one of the three most popular newspaper sites in the United States. Of course, the full-time staff of the Washington Post is not enough for visitors to receive all this information wealth. The site's maintenance (editorial and technical) is handled by 220 specially hired employees, of which 50 are “editorial.” The virtual newspaper occupies three floors in a specially rented building. According to last year's annual report, the Washington Post paid $67 million in 1998 for the pleasure of keeping up with progress - such are the company's losses associated with the content of the site.

The Washington Post is the second most important newspaper in the United States. She firmly occupied this position after the fantastic journalistic success associated with the investigation of the Watergate scandal, which ultimately led to the resignation of President Nixon. Its circulation is 800 thousand copies, and its Sunday edition is almost a million (the population of Washington and its suburbs is about four million people). The Washington Post is not a national publication. "We're a local newspaper, it's just that our 'local' is the capital of the United States," company president Donald Graham said in a recent interview. "We write for those who run the country and for those who scrub their office floors." The Washington Post is read in every second home in Washington and the surrounding area, which is extremely attractive to advertisers. Since the early 1970s, the value of Washington Post shares has increased almost a hundredfold. However, in recent months it has decreased by 18 percent - at least part of the decline is due to future losses from online activities.

Why would a thriving publication lose millions on website maintenance? Why is it so important to report an event as quickly as possible (briefly and superficially) if radio, television and news agencies will inevitably overtake you anyway? Why provide information services that can obviously be found on dozens of other specialized sites? The simplest answer is that you cannot lag behind progress. If something new is invented, you should immediately implement it at home. Of course, this is fraught with risk: you may only lose money, and the “innovation” will have to be thrown into the trash. But it’s much worse if you miss a truly epoch-making technological breakthrough - then you will no longer be able to catch up.

Futurologists predict that the paper newspaper will become a thing of history, and the journalist will go on a mission not just with a notepad and pen, but also in a special hat with a built-in video camera. His report will be immediately published on the Internet and accompanied by a “live” picture. True, today no one really answers the question of how to turn an online newspaper into a profitable business.
Online publishing allows you to avoid the main costs of printing and delivery. In addition, newspaper advertisements (for the sale of real estate, cars, employment, etc.), which constitute the main source of income for the newspaper, are increasingly exploring the Internet. And yet, while the printed newspaper is making a profit, the online newspaper is making only losses.

Newspaper journalism differs from online journalism - and from television - in greater depth, analysis, and “filtered” materials. Is it at risk of losing these advantages in the pursuit of online immediacy? "You're asking me this question on the same day that The Washington Post has won three Pulitzer Prizes for excellence in journalism," says Tracy Grant. "When the Washington Post's talented writers are writing in PM Extra... "It just means that the online world is getting richer. Anyone who really wants quality information on the Web should go to washingtonpost.com, not Yahoo." David Hoffman is not so serene. “It would be good if, as a result (of the development of online technologies - “Results”), we will be able to combine the efficiency of CNN with the depth of the Washington Post, and in addition, receiving this information will be as easy as on the radio. And if not "My biggest fear is that serious, thoughtful news coverage will become irrelevant."

It is hardly possible to predict with certainty how soon online newspapers will completely replace paper newspapers. In any case, the Washington Post does not expect this to happen in the near future. Most recently, the company opened two new printing plants in the Washington, D.C. area. 230 million dollars were invested in construction. Even Tracy Grant, who runs the Washington Post's "most online" project, is not a rampant progressive: "Call me a dinosaur," she says, "but I can't imagine there will be a day when paper newspapers no longer exist."