Michael Meyer

[Commentary] That Amazon’s Jeff Bezos purchased The Washington Post has the potential to be one of the more significant events in the history of modern American journalism.

The Post went from being a newspaper in retreat to being the only legacy media company in America that can consider itself a technology property. The Post is once again hungry to be a dominant force in American journalism, and the newsroom senses that the Graham era has been sealed off behind them.

The journalism isn’t what Bezos plans to revamp, or necessarily invest significant new funds in -- the new hires notwithstanding -- at least initially. His main focus is the pipeline: reaching the maximum number of customers by putting the Post’s journalism in a package (a tablet, a mobile site) that will draw the greatest number of readers.

As it has been with Amazon, his obsession at the Post is finding a way to integrate a product into millions of people’s lives in a way they haven’t yet experienced.