 |
||
|
|
||
| |||||||||||
For much of the 20th century, the Washington Post was a sleepy newspaper, its reporters lazy, its stories sloppy, and its publisher a Washington power broker with no reservations about shaping the news to suit his views or ends. But led by executive editor Ben Bradlee and publisher Katharine Graham, who succeeded her husband in that position, the Post came to life in the 1970s. It pursued Richard Nixon's trail of dirty money on its way to establishing itself as one of the world's great newspapers. The Post boasts the highest market penetration of any major market newspaper. It is the best-read newspaper in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia; moreover, it has garnered 34 Pulitzer Prizes, earning three in 2000. Currently, the Post ranks as the No. 5 paper in circulation in the U.S., and it's only a local paper! With over 700 reporters and editors, it commands a newsroom twice as large as the Washington Post newsroom in 1974 - the year Nixon resigned. But the Washington Post Company consists of more than just one newspaper. It owns several regional newspapers, the world's number-two news magazine, Newsweek, and the test-preparation company, Kaplan. The company also shares ownership of the Paris-based International Herald Tribune with its greatest newspaper rival, The New York Times. The company also has a 28 percent interest in Cowles Media, a newspaper company that owns the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Since 1992, a year after Bradlee retired and Graham transferred power to her son, the Washington Post Company has been purchasing cable television firms, adding to the several television stations it already owned throughout the South. The company's newspaper division accounts for only a third of its profits (41 percent of sales); the rest comes from cable and broadcast operations. In May 1997, the company launched an on-line news service, called washingtonpost.com. The company has advertised that product heavily. Additionally, it has, since January 1998, operated an influential, politically-oriented area on its website that has flourished from public consumption of the sex scandals surrounding President Bill Clinton. In December 1997, the company bought Newsbytes News Network, a leading online news service that covers the high tech industry. Furthering its online presence, in December 1999 The Washington Post Company enlisted Internet Broadcasting Systems Inc. to creat web sites for six of their television stations. In January 2000 the Post also entered into an alliance with NBC to share content. Later that year the Post debuted its "KidsPost" page, which summarizes news articles and features contests for kids that are 9-13 years old.
With publications at the top of their respective fields, the Washington Post Company usually interviews only writers and editors with several years of industry experience. The company also hires MBA graduates to handle its business affairs. A new division of the Washington Post responsible for on-line publishing, Washingtonpost.com, recruits on-line programmers and others with computer expertise. Like most media organizations, the Washington Post Company lists its editorial openings in industry journals such as Editor & Publisher. The Washington Post Company also lists some internal openings in its on-line classified advertising Web page, located at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-adv/classified/careerpost/employ.htm For positions as a reporter or editor at the Post, sources say applicants should "get experience, win some awards, amass terrific clips, and become a specialist in some subject." There are some positions as a news aide at the Washington Post, which are open to those who have just graduated. But keep in mind: the Post is "swamped" with applicants for those jobs and the pay "stinks." Kaplan, the Post's test preparation firm, usually recruits instructors who themselves did extremely well on the tests. For more information, consult Kaplan's Web page, located at http://www.kaplan.com/info.
Despite the Washington Post's reputation as "a powerful institution," employees call it "laid-back," "fun," and "worth caring about." The only negative comment our contacts have about the Post is the difficulty in getting hired. "It took me eight years of pestering to even get an interview," one reporter says; another adds, "It's heaven to work there, but you have to work like Hell to get hired." For recent graduates interested in journalism, employees at the Post suggest that "your best bet is to try a small paper or go for a fact-checking job at a magazine." At the Post, the pay scale is "top-notch"; a reporter, editor, or photographer with five years' experience will make at least $50,000 a year. Perks include tuition reimbursement, medical/dental/401 (k) plans, and an "old-fashioned" pension. While the "official" work day is seven and one-half hours, few employees stick to that schedule and "no one is exactly pushing them out the door." More often, they work "nights, weekends - whatever it takes." With their "passion" for "getting the story right," though, few employees mind. There is no "stated dress code," but "there seems to be a general attitude that we're all professionals and we know how professionals dress." For men, the higher-ups wear suits; the rest wear shirts and ties without jackets, and non-jean pants -- except on the weekends. Women dress like "professional women, in the infinite variety that entails." Although the Post "goes out of its way to recruit minorities and women," the newsrooms remain "predominantly white and male." Clearly, the Post is "open to success" to women since Katharine Graham was the CEO from 1963 to 1991. This egalitarianism extends throughout the company: "It's a wonderful workplace for women with lots of opportunity for advancement," says one advertising insider, who notes that employees are given classes on sexual harrasment.
Human Resources (202) 334-5350
Princeton Review More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
