Washington - Amazon said on Thursday it will offer a free Washington Post app to Kindle users for six months, a move highlighting the digital strategy for the newspaper owned by Jeff Bezos.
Bezos, the Amazon founder who purchased the daily last year, could expand the audience of the Post with the app “built specifically for a national and international readership,” according to an Amazon statement.
“This unique app reflects the culture of innovation and experimentation at today's Washington Post,” said Fred Ryan, publisher at chief executive at the Post.
“Our digital journalists and engineers are focusing on the multitude of ways to optimise the reader experience. With 42 million monthly readers and growing, this is another step forward in our effort to serve an even larger national and global audience. We are thrilled to be working with Amazon to offer this first to (Kindle) Fire tablet customers.”
The app will be made available as part of a free over-the-air software update for Kindle Fire tablets.
The Kindle app highlights the push by Bezos to bring together two apparently unrelated investments.
Bezos earlier this year named Ryan as publisher and chief executive, replacing Katharine Weymouth, the scion of the family that has run the paper for decades.
Bezos unveiled plans to buy the newspaper with his personal assets in August 2013 for $250-million. Since then he has said little about his vision, but the Post has been adding to its staff in recent months.
The Post, like other large dailies, has been struggling with declining print circulation and advertising as readers turn to news on digital platforms.
According to the Post, the cost for access to the news app will be $1 (about R10) per month for six months after the free period.
The monthly rate after that period is still under discussion, with a likely price of between $3 and $5 a month. - Sapa-AFP