142 Citizens
demonstrated by the eventual formation of Thomson Reuters in 2008).
Where the comparison is apt, however, is that both men became responsible for highly prestigious newspapers that were operating at a commercial loss yet provided considerable political influence.
Closer to home in terms of both geographically and in terms of the
technology sector is the example of Microsoft in the 1990s, dominated
as it was at that time by Bill Gates. Microsoft is instructive as an earlier example of how the decision by a major technology company to
invest in media played out nearly two decades prior to Bezos’s decision
to acquire the Post. When Microsoft decided to launch a joint venture
with NBC in 1996, it was at that time by far the biggest of the tech giants, having overtaken IBM in terms of market capitalisation and on its
way to its peak value of more than $613 billion in 1999. So successful
had the company’s launch of Windows 95 been the previous year that
Gates was investing more in MSN than on integrating web services into
the company’s operating system (indeed, in his book Business at the
Speed of Thought he revealed that in 1993, Microsoft was connected
to the net by just three machines sitting on an eight-foot folding table
with the cords held in place by duct tape
67
). By 1996, the company had
made considerable investments into MSN as its main portal although
already Gates had turned his company around with regard to the Internet, playing catch up with Netscape in particular to catch up with the
oncoming “tidal wave” and redirecting staff efforts in a famous memo
sent out in May 1995.
68
It was quite clear, however, that the world of
dial-up was not ready for immersive consumer entertainment, a factor
noted by Gates when he observed that “many technical issues need to be
resolved to ensure a simple and totally digital television experience for
viewers”,
69
the emphasis being on television rather than the web.
As such, Microsoft’s attempts to move into the news and entertainment market (which already included some successful gaming ventures,
soon to be joined by the launch of the Xbox) focussed on television
rather than online. On July 15, 1996, MSNBC was launched, delivering
news and commentary, Microsoft having invested $221 million for a 50
per cent share of the cable channel and sharing the $200 million cost of a
newsroom in Secaucus, New Jersey: as John Calhoun observed in 1997,
the style of the new channel was intended to create a “homey” feeling
that would encourage viewers to tune in,
70
and indeed the venture was
an early extension of Microsoft’s determination to dominate the home
as its software dominated the business world at the time. The channel’s
reputation was boosted following the 9/11 attacks when its rolling-news
format, like that of CNN, proved immensely popular and it began calling itself “America’s News Channel”: significantly, considering its later
liberal reputation, this makeover was accompanied by the hiring of
opinionated right-wing hosts such as Tucker Carlson and Pat Buchanan,
a period that also began to coincide with a slide in its ratings against the
demonstrated by the eventual formation of Thomson Reuters in 2008).
Where the comparison is apt, however, is that both men became responsible for highly prestigious newspapers that were operating at a commercial loss yet provided considerable political influence.
Closer to home in terms of both geographically and in terms of the
technology sector is the example of Microsoft in the 1990s, dominated
as it was at that time by Bill Gates. Microsoft is instructive as an earlier example of how the decision by a major technology company to
invest in media played out nearly two decades prior to Bezos’s decision
to acquire the Post. When Microsoft decided to launch a joint venture
with NBC in 1996, it was at that time by far the biggest of the tech giants, having overtaken IBM in terms of market capitalisation and on its
way to its peak value of more than $613 billion in 1999. So successful
had the company’s launch of Windows 95 been the previous year that
Gates was investing more in MSN than on integrating web services into
the company’s operating system (indeed, in his book Business at the
Speed of Thought he revealed that in 1993, Microsoft was connected
to the net by just three machines sitting on an eight-foot folding table
with the cords held in place by duct tape
67
). By 1996, the company had
made considerable investments into MSN as its main portal although
already Gates had turned his company around with regard to the Internet, playing catch up with Netscape in particular to catch up with the
oncoming “tidal wave” and redirecting staff efforts in a famous memo
sent out in May 1995.
68
It was quite clear, however, that the world of
dial-up was not ready for immersive consumer entertainment, a factor
noted by Gates when he observed that “many technical issues need to be
resolved to ensure a simple and totally digital television experience for
viewers”,
69
the emphasis being on television rather than the web.
As such, Microsoft’s attempts to move into the news and entertainment market (which already included some successful gaming ventures,
soon to be joined by the launch of the Xbox) focussed on television
rather than online. On July 15, 1996, MSNBC was launched, delivering
news and commentary, Microsoft having invested $221 million for a 50
per cent share of the cable channel and sharing the $200 million cost of a
newsroom in Secaucus, New Jersey: as John Calhoun observed in 1997,
the style of the new channel was intended to create a “homey” feeling
that would encourage viewers to tune in,
70
and indeed the venture was
an early extension of Microsoft’s determination to dominate the home
as its software dominated the business world at the time. The channel’s
reputation was boosted following the 9/11 attacks when its rolling-news
format, like that of CNN, proved immensely popular and it began calling itself “America’s News Channel”: significantly, considering its later
liberal reputation, this makeover was accompanied by the hiring of
opinionated right-wing hosts such as Tucker Carlson and Pat Buchanan,
a period that also began to coincide with a slide in its ratings against the