Washington
The Washington Post Is Pivoting Its Events Strategy
The Washington Post is overhauling its events business, shifting away from a high-volume virtual strategy toward a model built around fewer, larger, and franchisable in-person experiences.
The new approach, which began rolling out this year, aims to drive double-digit revenue growth within the standalone events business, while positioning live programming as a more central pillar of The Post’s overall advertising operation, according to Suzi Watford, chief strategy officer at The Post.
“We want to create really premium experiences that can drive both the mission of storytelling and the relationships we have with key clients,” Watford said. “The strategy is about bigger brand moments, bigger deals, and bigger ambitions.”
The pivot comes as The Post itself is attempting to reposition itself in the media ecosystem. Last year, the publisher reportedly lost around $100 million, a key factor motivating the changes.
Under new chief executive Will Lewis, the publisher has adopted the mantra “Riveting storytelling for all of America,” emphasizing its newfound mission to cater to a wider audience. Watford, who was brought aboard last May to reimagine the events strategy, joined the organization from Dow Jones, where she helped pioneer The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything franchise.
Franchising The Post
Under the new plan, The Post expects to host roughly 30 to 40 events this year, including about 10 major franchise-style gatherings.
Recent examples include The Ship, an inaugural event focused on leadership and mentorship, and Post Next, a forward-looking franchise that spotlights emerging figures across business, technology, and culture. The publisher is also expanding its Global Women’s Summit and launching a new intelligence platform around global security and defense.
This shift represents a notable departure from the Post’s earlier strategy, which heavily emphasized virtual events.
At the height of the pandemic, Washington Post Live produced as many as eight to 10 programs per week, reaching an average of 175,000 viewers per event. The virtual model helped advertisers achieve scale and efficiency, but post-pandemic fatigue and growing demand for premium, client-forward experiences have prompted a reassessment.
“Post-Covid, the idea of virtual events being the future hasn’t really held up,” said Eric Fleming, founder of PanPan Productions, who has previously worked with The Post’s events business. “A focused, less-is-more approach—especially one that invests in developing IP and franchise events—is the right move.”
The Mariners will try to wipe the slate clean today behind Emerson Hancock. He could use a great outing as much as the Mariners could use one from him. Since his first start in May, Hancock has looked less like a breakout star and more like a somewhat improved version of his old self. Over that time, his K%-BB% is down to just 12%, and he’s outrunning his peripherals on the back of a .200 BABIP. That’s all fine, and even that version of Hancock has more of a career in front of him than the guy who finished last season. But one hopes he can adjust back now that the league has clearly adjusted to him.
The Nats will counter with PJ Poulin, who will work as an opener in front of Miles Mikolas.
With Randy Arozarena still down with the hamstring issue and Julio Rodríguez getting a DH day, we’ll see an outfield of Luke Raley, Víctor Robles, and Dominic Canzone. It’s giving 2024. I wouldn’t read too much into Raley, Canzone, and Miles Mastrobouni getting starts against a lefty since Mikolas is expected to get the bulk today for Washington. Honestly, I’m surprised more teams aren’t trying a lefty opener against the Mariners.
Pretty standard lineup for the Nats except that Curtis Mead has the day off, and James Wood gets DH duty. On the seventh day, they rested.
First pitch: We got ourselves brunch baseball, baby. 10:35 PDT first pitch.
TV: Mariners TV
Radio: Old reliable
A fighter jet crashed into a mountain Saturday afternoon in Yakima County, Washington, sparking a wildfire, local officials said.
The crash occurred at about noon near Rimrock Lake in Washington state. The pilot sustained minor injuries after ejecting from the plane and was transported to the hospital, the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office said.
The crash sparked a fire in the area, prompting the evacuation of campers as firefighters worked to suppress it, officials said.
The U.S. Marine Corps told CBS affiliate KIRO-TV in a statement that the crashed jet was an F/A-18 Hornet “assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.”
The jet “experienced a non-fatal aviation mishap while conducting routine training approximately 55 miles southeast of Seattle, Washington,” the statement read.
The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing is based in Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California.
The Naches Fire Department said the fire was being suppressed by helicopters and at least one engine from the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest crew.
Helicopters and at least one engine from the U.S. Forest Service’s Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest also responded. The size of the blaze was unclear.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, officials said.
A grieving family is asking for help as investigators search for whoever killed a D.C. man and left him in an alley.
Dalonte Jackson, age 35, was brutally beaten in an apartment at The Paradise at Parkside complex. The attack took place on May 24, during Memorial Day weekend.
He was found in an alley off East Capitol Street — a seven minute drive from the apartments on Jay Street in Northeast D.C.
Jackson died five days after the attack. Family members are still hoping for an arrest.
“And then for them to take his body from this area to East Capitol Street and dump him like waste in the garbage?” said Jackson’s grandmother Sharon Jones. “But someone, an angel, appeared there and called 911.”
Relatives believe Jackson was lured to the apartment and never made it home. A disturbing text he sent to a friend before he was killed indicates he knew he was in trouble.
“And he texts them and he basically said, I don’t feel safe, and if something happens, I am with X, Y,” said Jackson’s aunt, Mottdricka Jackson.
After the beating, Jackson was hospitalized and was on life support for several days before he died. His death came just days after celebrating his 35th birthday.
An autopsy determined he died from multiple blunt force injuries.
“His skull was crashed, he was stabbed numerous times, his leg and his arm was broken,” Jones said. “Beat to death.”
Jackson’s family believes he was targeted, and was the victim of a hate crime because he was gay.
D.C. Police, in response to an inquiry from News4, said “There is no evidence to show this was a hate-bias incident.”
The investigation is ongoing. Police are offering $25,000 in reward money for help in solving the case.
“This is horrific to me, the way they killed him. He didn’t deserve that.”
Jackson donated his organs, saving the lives of four people.
Family and friends recently gathered near Jackson’s home at the Mayfair apartment complex to celebrate his life. They’re remembering him as a good person, a good cook, and a barista.
“He was known in Chinatown as “that coffee man,”” Jackson’s aunt said. “He worked for Starbucks and for Petes’, Capital One Arena, and for Starbucks at the Convention Center.”
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