Invent and Wander

 

Buying the Washington Post

I WAS NOT LOOKING for a newspaper and had no intention of buying a newspaper. I had never thought about the idea. It wasn’t like a childhood dream. My friend Don Graham, whom I’ve known for over twenty years, approached me through an intermediary and wanted to know if I would be interested in buying the Washington Post. I sent back word that I would not because I didn’t really know anything about newspapers.

Don, however, over a series of conversations, convinced me that was unimportant because the Washington Post already had so much internal talent who understood newspapers. What they needed was somebody who had an understanding of the internet, and so that was the first thing. That’s kind of how it got started, ...