Washington Post Co. to Shutter Newsbytes

The Washington Post Co. will shut down its Newsbytes online IT news service on May 31, a source close to the company told InternetNews.com Thursday.

While the company would neither confirm nor deny the shutdown, Washtech/Newsbytes Publisher Valerie Voci told InternetNews.com: “We currently
publish two technology Web sites for the Washington Post Co. and we are consolidating our online tech coverage.”

“I think the Washington Post is making a mistake,” the source said.

Another source inside the company said the Washington Post Co. will announce a number of changes to its online tech news coverage in the near future.

“I think it’s a real positive for users, for people who use WashTech and Newsbytes,” he said.

However, he also stressed that the syndication services provided by Newsbytes will not be shut down.

“We are realigning some of our resources here,” he said. “The syndication provided by Newsbytes is not going away.”

Newsbytes, which through its combined distribution channels boasts more than five million readers, is the oldest online source of IT
news on the Internet. Originally founded by Wendy Woods — currently the editor-in-chief — in 1983 as a BBS, the service was
acquired by the Washington Post Co. several years ago.

It has grown to more than 20 correspondents on five continents, and has bureaus in Washington, D.C., London, Melbourne, Toronto, San
Francisco, Los Angeles and Denver.