The Washington Post Company is a diversified media and education company. Its media operations consist of newspaper publishing (principally The Washington Post), television broadcasting (through the ownership and operation of six television broadcast stations), magazine publishing (principally Newsweek magazine), and the ownership and operation of cable television systems. . Through its subsidiary Kaplan, Inc., the Company also provides educational services for individuals, schools and businesses. Its operations in areas outside the United States (consisting primarily of Kaplan's foreign operations and the publication of the international editions of Newsweek) accounted for approximately 7% of its consolidated revenues during the fiscal year ended January 1, 2006. In May 2006, Kaplan, Inc. completed the acquisition of Tribeca Learning Limited. On June 06, 2006, the Company acquired SpellRead, originator of SpellRead Phonological Auditory Training, a reading intervention program.

 After a drop of around 4% in 2001, the US market for printing & publishing has climbed at an average 3% annually since to reach a value approaching $220 billion towards the end of 2004.

Advertising, both online and print, is on the rise again in the US, leading the industry in terms of revenues generated in 2004 and also the fastest growing sector. Companies are now willing to pay more for advertising and this factor, when added to the escalating revenues from online and niche, or targeted audience, publications, seems set to drive further strong growth within the sector into 2005. Rising energy and raw material costs pose the biggest cost threat to the industry moving forward although they should not affect the industrys projected strong growth.

Several US publishers have moved to quickly counter the rising threat of Internet-only competitors, developing online versions of all the major national titles, offering both freely-available and subscription content, with annual subscriptions the largest revenue generators. The financial implications of the transition from physical to electronic copy will become more visible in the next decade, as subscriptions to broadband services increase.

The leading players in the US newspaper sector include Gannett, Tribune, The New York Times Company and Knight Ridder. Gannetts flagship title USA Today, is the leading title in terms of circulation, with an average readership of approximately 2.2 million.

Time is a leading newspaper, magazine and book publisher. Hearst is also a major player in the magazine sector. The resurgence of tech stocks and the trend towards more group focused, niche publications has seen a host of new business and technology-related magazines hit the market in 2004, with more primed for introduction in 2005.

In terms of book publishing, the strongest players include Reed Elsevier, Random House, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster.

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