The Washington Post just announced that it is getting back into the business of reporting on business. So far, so good. After all, this is the paper that eliminated its standalone business section last year, prompting me to relinquish my print subscription.

But then I looked at the model:

• The new business coverage will take the form of a weekly print publication
• You have to be a current Washington Post subscriber to subscribe
• It’s going to cost somewhere around $50 per year (well, maybe non-Post-subscribers will be able to subscribe, but pay more)

Does anyone else think something is wrong with this model?

It’s not enough to have a business model, it needs to be a good model. Here are three problems I see with this one:

• Competition (including the Washington Business Journal)
• Timeliness (seriously, in a 24/7 news cycle, a newspaper company is proposing a new weekly?)
• Cost (if you’re an existing Washington Post subscriber, don’t you think the paper should already be providing business coverage?)

What’s your take?

Photo by Eddie Welker (Flickr).