The avalanche of mass layoffs that occurs here and there in high-tech conglomerates across the Atlantic does not leave the area of ​​​​their newspapers unscathed. Particularly last week amid intense rumors to the contrary, the billionaire Jeff Bezos and newspaper owner Washington Post sought to reassure employees that she did not intend to sell it, as reported by the British newspaper The Guardian. This speculation was fueled by other rumors that another tycoon, Mike Bloomberg, is reportedly interested in acquiring the Washington Post. The stress and anxiety of its journalists peaked a decade ago when Bezos visited the Post and reaffirmed his commitment to journalism. However, four days ago, the newspaper reported a wave of layoffs. On the surface, nothing has changed, but this story served to illustrate the consequences of the “marriages” between high-tech magnates and the American media after a chorus of wealthy men (and women) who acquired troubled news outlets – in some cases, these media became their property, while how for decades they belonged to dynasties of family business.

The problems in the technology sector are expected to affect the media acquired by the new economy moguls.

Today, with tech company valuations falling across the board, a major blow is expected to the media bought by the former’s billionaire owners. Some experts believe that the past few years have been a rude awakening for the new ruling class of the American media. “I think Bezos came into the media business thinking he understands technology in a way that older people don’t,” said Eli Noam, professor of telecomputing at Columbia University and author of the 2015 book Who Owns the World’s Media? He then “discovered that technology does not really solve the structural problems of the press. Or, if it does, it will work for everyone else in the competition.” Over the past ten years, the influx of capital from the technology industry into the media has been massive and impressive. Specifically, Bezos bought the Post from the Graham family in 2013 for $250 million. eBay founder Pierre Omidyar paid a similar amount for First Look Media. Lauryn Powell Jobs bought a majority stake in The Atlantic for $160 million. Biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong bought the Los Angeles Times for $500 million. Salesforce founder Marc Benioff bought the rights to the Time trademark for $190 million.

According to the Guardian, the US press is grappling with chronic problems, including the decline of newspapers and magazines, ways to make money online and increased competition from its digital competitors. However, they also have problems that need to be addressed. For example, Vice Media, which received investments from Disney and 21st Century Fox and was once valued at $5.7 billion, is now valued at less than $1 billion. Finally, in December, money-losing news company Buzzfeed announced that it would cut 12 percent of its more than 1,500 employees.