History

1925 to 1949

1933
On June 1, a public bankruptcy auction was held on the steps of The Post's E Street Building and the newspaper was sold for $825,000 to Eugene Meyer, a California-born financier. Meyer was not an experienced newspaperman, but he had strong convictions about publishing a newspaper which he expressed in this set of principles:

• The first mission of a newspaper is to tell the truth as nearly as the truth may be ascertained.
• The Newspaper shall tell ALL the truth so far as it can learn it, concerning the important affairs of America and the world.
• As a disseminator of the news, the paper shall observe the decencies that are obligatory upon a private gentleman.
• What it prints shall be fit reading for the young as well as for the old.
• The newspaper's duty is to its readers and to the public at large, and not to the private interests of its owners.

• In the pursuit of truth, the newspaper shall be prepared to make sacrifices of its material fortunes, if such course be necessary for the public good.
• The newspaper shall not be the ally of any special interest, but shall be fair and free and wholesome in its outlook on public affairs and public men.

1933-1943
Eugene Meyer's enlightened editorial policies and his business acumen began to turn The Washington Post around. In the first ten years after he took over, circulation tripled to 162,000 and advertising soared from 4 million to 12 million lines. However, The Post continued to lose money.

1946
President Harry S. Truman appointed Eugene Meyer the first president of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Meyer was succeeded at The Washington Post by his daughter Katharine Meyer Graham's husband, Philip L. Graham, who had been assistant publisher.

1947
The Washington Post Company was incorporated on August 4.

1948
The Washington Post Company acquired controlling interest of WTOP radio in Washington, D.C.

Back to Top