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Washington Post Buys Slate From Microsoft

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the it's-easy-and-it's-required dept.

securitas writes "The Washington Post has bought online magazine Slate from Microsoft for an undisclosed sum believed to be in the millions of dollars. The sale comes almost five months after Microsoft put Slate on the block (Slashdot) in late July. If you're looking for a perspective from someone other than Slate's editor Jacob Weisberg, Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz writes about the sale: 'According to ComScore Media Metrix, washingtonpost.com drew 4.5 million unique visitors last month, while Slate drew 4.8 million.' David Carr reports in the New York Times that Neilsen NetRatings recorded 6 million Slate visitors last month. Either way, Slate's audience is larger than the Post's online edition. You can learn more about the deal from AP via IHT or get streaming audio at NPR (Real|Windows Media)."

6 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Am I the only one who immediately thought... by Sensible+Clod · · Score: 5, Funny

    'why would one modern company buy something so low-tech from a tech company, of all people?'

    Then my mind saw those funky slate 'newspapers' from the Flintstones...

    *shudders*

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  2. Inner Problems? by homeobocks · · Score: 5, Funny

    I guess Microsoft is tired of their magazine supporting Firefox.

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  3. Re:Who reads Slate by rawket.scientist · · Score: 5, Informative

    I could never accept that Slate had genuine editorial independence from Microsoft.

    Slate did recommend Firefox over IE.

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  4. Re:Who reads Slate by aengblom · · Score: 5, Informative

    I don't mean to say you shouldn't be aware of the issue (Slate makes it pretty clear they they are owned by Microsoft), but that you should actually think for yourself.

    Make a decision based on the reality and not your assumptions. Hell Slate endorsed Firefox just a few months ago and it bashed a big huge Washington Post series this week. (And this has been expected for months.)

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  5. Reasons to read Slate by akratic · · Score: 5, Informative

    Who reads Slate? I do...obsessively. Some reasons why:

    • Dahlia Lithwick's blow-by-blow accounts of Supreme Court arguments provide much more detail and insight than you'll find in a newspaper. Take a look at this report on the medicinal marijuana case .
    • "Explainers" provide interesting background information on recent news, such as this article on dioxin poisoning, published after the recent events in the Ukraine.
    • Their editorials and analyses are both carefully thought out and bolder than what you'll typically see in print--sometimes to the point of being a bit disturbing, like this article advocating "minimally invasive" interrogation techniques. (For the record, I don't agree with this article, but I found it thought-provoking.)

    Slate isn't a substitute for reading a newspaper, but if you want to get more insight into what's going on, it's a good place to look.

  6. Re:Who reads Slate by Short+Circuit · · Score: 5, Funny

    And was promptly offered for sale...

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