• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, May 23, 2024

The Washington Post is creating new subscription tiers in an attempt to counter a $77 million loss and decline in digital readers over the last year.  

“To speak candidly: We are in a hole, and we have been for some time,” said Will Lewis, Post publisher who joined in January, during a staff meeting on Wednesday.

The new offerings include a membership program and subscription tiers titled Post Pro and Post Plus.  

The tiers will be divided between those marketed to current individual subscribers and offerings designed to generate new revenue from companies, the paper reports. 

This approach has worked well at Politico, which offers its Politico Pro service tiered for high-priced corporate subscriptions, the Post notes.   

In addition, the Post is considering a flexible payment option to make it easier for non-subscribers to pay for online news. 

Included among the new content offerings will be one that targets the Washington metro audience, including a newsletter, guides and experiences. In addition, the Post will launch a product that covers the relationship between the climate and the economy. 

Of course, the Post will be doing this with a reduced staff after a round of cost-cutting buyouts during the winter. There will be some shuffling of resources going forward.  

But Lewis expressed optimism, saying, “This is all repairable, all doable, particularly if we do it together.” 

He concluded, “I hope in the future you see this day as a significant day in the history of our company.”