Washington Post abandons newsroom integration for its social media-focused 'WP Ventures' division
The Post last year announced a vague plan to introduce a "third newsroom" that was separate from both the paper's traditional news and opinion sections and appealed to social media users. Less than a year after its launch, Krissah Thompson, who was running WP Ventures, took the Post's latest voluntary separation package and will exit the company at the end of the month.
Thompson's exit coincides with the "next iteration of WP Ventures," which will be completely separated from the paper's newsroom because "the industry has shifted."
"A year ago, we set out to understand and respond to the evolving dynamics of news, specifically off-platform and within the creator space. We formally launched WP Ventures in January, with a focus on reach, relevance, and revenue: expanding our presence on social media and creating new commercial opportunities, especially for consumer and lifestyle journalism. Even as we have pursued that effort, the industry has shifted," WP Ventures general manager Samantha Henig wrote to staffers in a joint memo alongside Thompson.
The memo, which has been obtained by Fox News Digital, insists the project "was always intended for continuous evolution and has always been experimental."
"It's become clear that in order to most effectively operate in this new environment, we should double down on the original premise of creating a third space alongside — but outside — the newsroom and Opinion. So the next iteration of WP Ventures will be developed apart from The Post newsroom," Henig and Thompson wrote.
Chief Strategy Officer Suzi Watford will now oversee WP Ventures.
"Going forward, we will focus entirely on building personality-driven content and franchises around personalities in topic areas that are of interest to our target audience of Confident Strivers, and with strong commercial opportunities. This could include audio, video, newsletters, and events. We will responsibly embrace AI to tell and promote stories in new ways and at scale on new platforms," Henig and Thompson wrote.
The memo concluded: "Not all of Ventures will be making this move. The teams that are deeply tied to the newsroom will remain in the newsroom. We will be meeting with all teams over the coming days to discuss the transition plan after Krissah's departure. And we will have more details on what this next phase and this new team look like in the coming weeks and months."
The changes to WP Ventures come as the Post has faced an unprecedented exodus of its top talent, low morale and wholesale changes to the Opinion section.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
U.S. Hiring Was Weak in July, With 73,000 Jobs Added
U.S. job growth slowed in July, a signal that pockets of weakness that had been marring the labor market are starting to take hold. The U.S. added a seasonally adjusted 73,000 jobs in July, the Labor Department reported Friday, below the gain of 100,000 jobs economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected to see. Why Ford's Made-in-America Strategy Hurts It in Trump's Trade War Ray Dalio Sells Last Stake in Bridgewater, the Hedge Fund That Made Him a Billionaire Community Callout: What Would You Ask a Mega-Millionaire About Money? Big Tech's $400 Billion AI Spending Spree Just Got Wall Street's Blessing Amazon Shares Fall Because Cloud Unit's Growth Wasn't Enough for Wall Street The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.2% from 4.1%. Hiring in May and June was much weaker than previously reported. Revisions showed employers added a combined 258,000 fewer jobs in May and June than previously estimated. July's report comes as economists and policymakers are trying to figure out which of two competing narratives about the economy is more true. One view is that of surprising resilience. Tariff threats, though they have started to seep into some prices, have yet to translate into pronounced inflation. Consumers, after holding back earlier in the year, are feeling a bit more confident. The other perspective is that cracks are starting to appear and could deepen. Some companies, such as Procter & Gamble and Chipotle Mexican Grill, are reporting that customers are becoming more sensitive to prices. Young consumers in particular are cutting back on discretionary spending, and much of the economy's growth is being driven by the wealthiest Americans. 'Everyone is trying to understand what direction the economy is taking,' said Jonathan Pingle, chief U.S. economist at UBS. Guy Berger, senior fellow at labor-market think tank Burning Glass Institute, is of the opinion that the economy is still stable. 'You look at almost every major indicator,' Berger said, 'and they have all been pretty steady since last fall.' One factor that hasn't been steady, though, is the policy backdrop. 'I would not bet a lot of money on things staying stable going forward,' Berger said, citing tariffs, restrictions on immigration and a big new tax bill. Economists are paying particular attention to changes in the supply of workers. A dramatic decrease in border crossings is constraining the number of people from abroad coming into the labor force. High-profile immigration raids are keeping many workers at home. Meanwhile, the U.S. is aging, boosting retirements and limiting the number of younger people joining the workforce. A year and a half ago, the economy needed to add 166,000 jobs a month to keep the labor market steady, according to Peterson Institute for International Economics senior fellow Jed Kolko. As of June, Kolko said, the needed number was only 86,000. 'It's fallen so much because this immigration surge has ended,' Kolko said. In other words, a job creation number that might have looked lackluster a year and a half ago might actually be strong today. Recently, the number of jobs created each month has been slowing, but the unemployment rate has risen only slightly. 'People are going to have to get used to employment gains that are meh that will not tell us on their own that the job market is weak,' said Berger. 'That is a weird thing for people to get used to.' Write to Rachel Wolfe at Shake Shack Leans Into Innovation to Keep Customers Coming Figma Shares Jump 250% in Their Stock-Market Debut Apple's iPhone Sales Blow Past Estimates as Customers Raced to Beat Tariffs UnitedHealth Group Replaces CFO John Rex Here's How Companies Are Dealing With $50 Billion of New Tariffs Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Exchange-Traded Funds, Equity Futures Lower Pre-Bell Friday Amid Revived Trade War Fears
The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down 0.8% and the actively tr Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Moderna's Key Patent Win Overshadowed By Gloomy Outlook
Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) reported on Friday a second-quarter loss of $2.13 per share, beating the consensus of a $2.98 loss, an improvement from a loss of $3.33 a year ago. The COVID-19 vaccine maker reported quarterly sales of $142 million, beating the consensus of $116.34 million. Sales fell 41% from $241 million in the same period in 2024. The decline was primarily driven by lower COVID-19 vaccine sales, which totaled $114 million in the is expected to be concentrated in the second half of the year, aligning with the fall and winter seasons as the vaccine transitions into a seasonal respiratory product. The company reported $114 million in Spikevax sales in the second quarter of 2025, including $88 million in U.S. and $26 million in international sales. Moderna recently announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Spikevax in children 6 months through 11 years of age who are at increased risk for COVID-19 disease. The company's COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA-1273) was previously available for pediatric populations under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Additionally, the company announced it has received final approval from the European Medicines Agency for Spikevax targeting the LP.8.1 variant in individuals six months of age and older. Moderna also announced FDA approval for mNEXSPIKE (mRNA-1283), a next-generation vaccine against COVID-19, for use in all adults aged 65 and older, as well as individuals aged 12-64 years with at least one underlying risk factor. On Wednesday, the European Commission approved the updated formulation of the COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax, targeting the SARS-CoV-2 variant LP.8.1, for individuals six months of age and older. Moderna reported negligible mRESVIA (RSV vaccine) sales in the second quarter of 2025. Moderna's RSV vaccine for adults aged 60 years and older has been approved in approximately 40 countries. Additionally, Moderna recently announced that the FDA has approved mRESVIA (mRNA-1345), expanding the previous indication, for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) caused by RSV in individuals 18-59 years of age who are at increased risk for disease. View more earnings on MRNA Cost of sales for the second quarter of 2025 was $119 million, which included third-party royalties of $6 million, inventory write-downs of $38 million, and unutilized manufacturing capacity and wind-down costs of $52 million. Cost of sales was relatively flat compared to the same period in 2024. The increase in cost of sales as a percentage of net product sales, to 105% from 62% in the second quarter of 2024, was mainly driven by lower net product sales. R&D expenses were $700 million, a 43% decrease year over year. The reduction was primarily driven by lower clinical trial and manufacturing expenses, reflecting reduced production spending, program wind-downs, and the timing of trial activities across the company's respiratory vaccine portfolio. Outlook Moderna has revised its 2025 revenue outlook to $1.5 billion-$2.2 billion compared to $1.5 billion-$2.5 billion, compared to a consensus of $2.09 billion, reflecting a $300 million reduction at the high end of the range. The update is primarily driven by the timing shift of deliveries of contracted revenue for the U.K. into the first quarter of 2026. Moderna expects a revenue split of 40-50% in the third quarter for the second half of the year, with the balance in the fourth quarter of 2025. Cost of sales for 2025 is expected to be approximately $1.2 billion. Full-year 2025 research and development expenses are anticipated to be $3.6 to $3.8 billion, lowered from previous expectations of approximately $4.1 billion. Year-end cash and investments for 2025 are projected to be approximately $6 billion. Recently, Moderna announced an organizational restructuring that will reduce its global workforce by approximately 10%. The company anticipates a total headcount of under 5,000 by year-end. Legal Ruling On Friday, Moderna announced that the U.K. Court of Appeal upheld the validity of Moderna's EP'949 patent. European patent EP'949 relates to chemically modified mRNA, one of Moderna's foundational technologies. The decision affirms the High Court's initial ruling from July 2024 that the EP'949 patent is valid and infringed by Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) / BioNTech SE's (NASDAQ:BNTX) COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty. Pfizer/BioNTech subsequently appealed. With this ruling, the U.K. becomes the first jurisdiction globally to issue a second-instance decision confirming the validity of one of Moderna's core mRNA patents. In Germany, the Regional Court found that Pfizer and BioNTech infringed Moderna's modified mRNA patent and confirmed Moderna's right to seek damages. An appeal is pending. The European Patent Office upheld the validity of EP'949 in opposition proceedings. An appeal is pending. Price Action: Moderna stock is trading 7.92% lower to $27.22 premarket at last check Friday. Read Next:Photo by Lutsenko_Oleksandr via Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? MODERNA (MRNA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Moderna's Key Patent Win Overshadowed By Gloomy Outlook originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Sign in to access your portfolio
