Jeff Bezos‘ purchase of The Washington Post reconfirms that the newspaper industry is hurting, that the media industry is still in a state of flux, and that no matter how digital content gets, we still have a soft spot for ink. A venerable, old school newspaper that was founded in 1877 was bought by someone who has made their fortune in e-commerce and the news took over Twitter, with “WaPo,” “Washington Post,” and “Jeff Bezos” all trending at some point in the past 24 hours. It truly shows how mixed up and tremendous the media is right now.

As with any change at a media outlet, we wait to see if there will be shifts in the newsroom. Publicists who pitch WaPo are likely preparing for any changes to their media relations strategy. And we can’t forget that there are other properties impacted by this sale. The Root, Slate, and a number of other newspapers and properties are being separated from their anchor, which could also affect their futures. Though we can’t forget that the anchor lost 44 percent of its operating revenue in the past six years.

Clearly, this deal gives The Washington Post the opportunity to not just hover on the edge of survival, but to actually thrive. For Bezos, the paper’s success would reap more than just monetary fortunes.

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In this episode of “Cubes,” we take a behind-the-scenes tour of Audible.com. The Amazon-owned audiobook company is headquartered in the heart of Newark, NJ and its office has played host to Jeff Bezos and George R.R. Martin, among other literary luminaries, as well as a ton of top-flight voice actors who narrate Audible’s books in state-of-the-art studios.

For more videos, check out Mediabistro.tv, and be sure to follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

Photo: Emile Wamsteker/Bloomberg

When Jeff Bezos announced Amazon’s new Kindle products today he presented them with this message, “What we are doing is offering premium products at non-premium prices… We don’t think of the Kindle Fire as a tablet. We think of it as a service.”

Of course, many of the news stories today have compared the Kindle Fire to the iPad, noting the big differences between the two. One is obviously a couple hundred bucks and the other costs much more. Nevertheless, Reuters focuses on Barnes & Noble, which may take a big hit on the e-reader front.

Bezos made sly references to the iPad, but largely focused on what the Kindle Fire can do — it has apps, games, email capabilities, and more.

What do you think of positioning the Kindle Fire as a service rather than a tablet? The comments section is open.

[image via Bloomberg]

If Seattle-based Amazon doesn’t get its way with the state of California, it may be taking its toys and going home.

Reuters and other news outlets reported late Thursday that the huge online retailer promised the California State Legislature it would open a warehouse in California and create 7,000 jobs if the state would hold off on demanding sales tax for two years. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation that would have required Amazon to start collecting a 7.25 percent base tax on online purchases by today.

California organizations and some lawmakers are against the deal. Amazon has sweetened the pot by saying it would also stop pushing for a repeal of the sales tax law.

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