To categorize the Washington Post Co. as a newspaper company would be a misnomer, according to CEO Donald Graham, who insists it's "an education and media" company. After all, the company does generate half of its quarterly earnings from its Kaplan education division — not to mention its newspaper revenue has been gradually declining quarterly.
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At the UBS Investor Conference in New York on Wednesday, Bloomberg quoted Graham as saying: "In 2001, the Washington Post was properly identified as a media and education company. ... Today, it is the reverse. We are an education and media company."
If numbers are any proof, that seems to be the case. The newspaper's third-quarter revenue declined 1.1% to $72.5 million, but the company saw a 22% rise in revenue at Kaplan, thereby offsetting lower print advertising sales on the publishing side. Consequently, the Post's third-quarter revenue rose 8% to $1.02 billion thanks in large part to Kaplan's $515 million of revenue. As for future guidance, the Post said that sales at its
Kaplan education unit will rise in 2008 while revenue will decline
from its namesake newspaper and Newsweek magazine. — Gerald Magpily
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