到此為止，大家應(yīng)該都知道 Jeff Bezos 以美金 2.5 億的個(gè)人資產(chǎn)，買下了美國最具代表性報(bào)業(yè)集團(tuán)之一的華盛頓郵報(bào)。這個(gè)事件對美國的歷史意義，和數(shù)年前旺旺買下中國時(shí)報(bào)集團(tuán)對臺灣的歷史意義接近，甚至有過之而無不及。
當(dāng)然是怎么樣的歷史意義，已經(jīng)有不少新聞行業(yè)的專家寫了他們的評析。
今天我想聊的，是在星期一新聞公開之后，新東家 Jeff Bezos 在昨天，也就是星期二，發(fā)表在 Washington Post 網(wǎng)站，他寫給華盛頓郵報(bào)同仁的這封信，和信背后 Jeff 展現(xiàn)出來的創(chuàng)業(yè)精神與領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者風(fēng)范。
To the employees of The Washington Post:You’ll have heard the news, and many of you will greet it with a degree of apprehension. When a single family owns a company for many decades, and when that family acts for all those decades in good faith, in a principled manner, in good times and in rough times, as stewards of important values – when that family has done such a good job – it is only natural to worry about change.
信的第一段，Jeff 首先處理「情緒」這個(gè)最重要的東西，但他不是告訴同仁們「不要擔(dān)心」，而是先認(rèn)同他們的擔(dān)心，并且替他們剖析擔(dān)心的理由「原來的東家這么好，換了新東家不知道有沒有一樣好，是人都會擔(dān)心…」。
So, let me start with something critical. The values of The Post do not need changing. The paper’s duty will remain to its readers and not to the private interests of its owners. We will continue to follow the truth wherever it leads, and we’ll work hard not to make mistakes. When we do, we will own up to them quickly and completely.
以 Empathy 取得了初步的認(rèn)同，接著 Jeff 給出承諾，開始試著贏得 Post 同仁的信任。值得注意的是他并沒有去觸碰工作權(quán)、薪水或福利這些一般并購案后員工最關(guān)心的議題，相反的，Jeff 訴求更高一層，也就是新聞從業(yè)人員普遍認(rèn)同的價(jià)值 ── 服務(wù)大眾、挖掘真相、避免錯(cuò)誤報(bào)導(dǎo)等等。Jeff 給出的承諾是明確的告訴 Post 同仁，這些新聞的基本價(jià)值并不會因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)商人接手，而有任何改變。
I won’t be leading The Washington Post day-to-day. I am happily living in “the other Washington” where I have a day job that I love. Besides that, The Post already has an excellent leadership team that knows much more about the news business than I do, and I’m extremely grateful to them for agreeing to stay on.
而為了徹底消除同仁對新東家干涉新聞自由的疑慮，Jeff 接著闡明了他不能也不會參與 Post 的日常運(yùn)作。值得注意的是為了贏取好感，Jeff 把自己的位置降到最低，除了自嘲是「另一個(gè) (也就是較不知名的的意思) 華盛頓」的居民外，他甚至把自己在電商巨人 Amazon 擔(dān)任 CEO 職務(wù)這個(gè)事實(shí)，只用了一個(gè)「一個(gè)白天的工作」來形容。接著他稱贊 Post 現(xiàn)在的經(jīng)營團(tuán)隊(duì)對新聞的專業(yè)，也謙卑的感謝他們愿意留任。
There will, of course, be change at The Post over the coming years. That’s essential and would have happened with or without new ownership. The Internet is transforming almost every element of the news business: shortening news cycles, eroding long-reliable revenue sources, and enabling new kinds of competition, some of which bear little or no news-gathering costs. There is no map, and charting a path ahead will not be easy. We will need to invent, which means we will need to experiment. Our touchstone will be readers, understanding what they care about – government, local leaders, restaurant openings, scout troops, businesses, charities, governors, sports – and working backwards from there. I’m excited and optimistic about the opportunity for invention.
醞釀了三段之后，接著進(jìn)入了重頭戲。Jeff 開始說但事情必須要有變化，但變化不是新東家造成的，而是大環(huán)境，也就是 Internet 帶來的顛覆。接著他說：「 (變化) 并沒有地圖，要畫出前進(jìn)的路線更不會是容易的。我們必須要發(fā)明，這代表著我們必須要實(shí)驗(yàn)。讀者是我們的試金石，我們必須了解他們關(guān)心的事物 ── 政府、地方領(lǐng)袖、餐廳開幕、童子軍、商業(yè)、慈善、州長、體育，然后從那邊倒推回來?！?/strong>這整段基本上就是網(wǎng)絡(luò)行業(yè)的核心精神，從市場出發(fā)，了解消費(fèi)者的需要，然后再從那邊倒推回來滿足這些需要。消費(fèi)者是很難了解的，因此需要實(shí)驗(yàn)，取得數(shù)據(jù)，然后才能發(fā)明。
Journalism plays a critical role in a free society, and The Washington Post — as the hometown paper of the capital city of the United States — is especially important. I would highlight two kinds of courage the Grahams have shown as owners that I hope to channel. The first is the courage to say wait, be sure, slow down, get another source. Real people and their reputations, livelihoods and families are at stake. The second is the courage to say follow the story, no matter the cost. While I hope no one ever threatens to put one of my body parts through a wringer, if they do, thanks to Mrs. Graham’s example, I’ll be ready.
表達(dá)了他將會推動(dòng)的改變后，Jeff 又回到贊揚(yáng)與認(rèn)同的取得 (這是典型的三明治夾攻)。他闡明新聞對自由社會的價(jià)值，華盛頓郵報(bào)對首都居民的影響力，以及前東家 Graham 家族哲學(xué)。最后還補(bǔ)上一句，如果為了 Post 的新聞?wù)x要他冒生命風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，他也愿意。
I want to say one last thing that’s really not about the paper or this change in ownership. I have had the great pleasure of getting to know Don very well over the last ten plus years. I do not know a finer man.Sincerely,
Jeff Bezos
而信的最后，Jeff 給了一個(gè)超級漂亮的收尾。他知道大家會懷疑這是一個(gè)倉促的決定，所以除了再次贊揚(yáng) Post 現(xiàn)任董事長 Donold Graham 是他所認(rèn)識最紳士的男人外，也偷偷泄漏了兩人已經(jīng)相知十多年的事實(shí)，接著就讓這封信完美的收在讀者滿意與驚奇的情緒高點(diǎn)上。
身為一個(gè)「西部 New Money 科技新富」，要收買長期在東岸 Old Guard Graham 家族門下的 700 多位 WaPo 知識工作者的心，并不是容易的事情。我認(rèn)為 Jeff Bezos 的這第一封信非常經(jīng)典，選擇刊登在 Post 網(wǎng)站上也非常巧妙，值得所有創(chuàng)業(yè)者細(xì)讀、學(xué)習(xí)。
PS. 如果你還記得的話，收買 Zappos 時(shí)，Bezos 給同仁的第一個(gè)公開溝通，是一支這樣的 YouTube 影片：
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