In August, Aaron Barlow, the editor of Academe and the Academe Blog, posted a piece on the blog addressing the possibility that electronic technologies might have the same impact on higher education as they have had on journalism. Aaron made the case that academia is fundamentally different than journalism in enough ways that our individual institutions are unlikely to be absorbed by some sort of online entities in the same way that, for instance, Newsweek is soon to be absorbed into The Daily Beast.

But I don’t believe that Aaron anticipated that journalism and higher education might become as financially intertwined as they have become in at least one very notable instance.

The Washington Post Company is a major corporation. In 2010, it had assets totaling $5.158 billion, annual revenues totaling $5.12 billion, and net profits of $278 million. Its holdings in publishing included, of course, the Washington Post, but also four other daily newspapers, 35 weekly newspapers, and a less clearly advertised number of military newspapers and real estate guides. Its broadcast holdings include six FM radio stations in major metropolitan markets, two television stations, and one cable network. It also owns three companies that specialize in various types of digital marketing.

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