Derek Jeter's "The Players' Tribune"

Well, Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post for $250 million. So, at least one.

 

It's widely believed that he overpaid:

The founder of Amazon.com Inc. plunked down $250 million for the Post newspaper division, about 17 times adjusted profit, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That multiple implies a valuation for the New York Times of about $4 billion -- more than double its current market value. Major metropolitan newspapers should fetch 3 or 4 times profit, said research firm Outsell Inc.

“Bezos paid a friendship premium of $200 million here,” Ken Doctor, a media analyst at Burlingame, California-based Outsell, said in a phone interview. “There are a handful of news brands in the world that will merit some kind of premium over the usual multiple, but the multiple over the multiple here seems really high.”

The value of newspapers has been cratering since Rupert Murdoch paid $5.2 billion for Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones & Co. six years ago. The New York Times, the last major U.S. family-owned newspaper, has seen its market value fall 50 percent to $1.8 billion since the Dow Jones deal was announced as print advertising dropped and readers migrated to the Internet for news.

Bezos Paid a ‘Friendship Premium’ for the Washington Post

Boston Globe went for $70 million, and is probably worth less today.

At some point, most papers are only worth what the building they are housed in is worth, if they haven't already sold it.

 

It's worth what someone would pay for it.

 

Just so we're clear: Your read of TPT's worth is rooted in what some angel investor puts into it?

Further: isn't Buzz feed or Vox a more appropriate comparison?

Finally: Are you dangling the "worth" of a PR agency in front of journalists as a troll effort? As a way of making workaday journalists feel bad? If so, why?

you seem to reveal, intermittently, that you kind of hate journalists and the work they do. Which brings up the inevitable question: why are you here?

 

I'm a fan of good journalism.

TPT was pretty roundly mocked when it launched. I think it's exceeded expectations.

Did anyone think it would have this kind of valuation?

Not sure what percentage Jeter owns, but it's been a pretty successful endeavor for him.

 

Why are you comparing journalistic outfits with a PR mouthpiece?

Edit: Alma beat me to it.

 

I think it's in real question whether you are a fan of good journalism or even know what it is or what it could be, aside from stories that shit on journalism.

And you're perfectly entitled to hate journalism, journalists and the work they do. It does make me wonder why you're here sometimes.

 

The idea was pretty genius for the athlete side. They get to control their message. Good for them. Conflating it with journalism is useless.

 

Oh. You think it's in question?

That means a lot.

 

Because newspaper folks mocked it when it launched, and now it's worth $140 million.

Did anyone predict it would be a hit?

 

Why wouldn't a place where the most important athletes in the country--the world?--share their personal messages be successful?

 

I don't recall any predictions of such. Maybe I missed them.