Washington Post 2008 Annual Report Download - page 8

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one). He shaped Kaplan as it is today, and it’s a
sensational business.
The management team at Kaplan is as strong as
the business. Kaplan has a most impressive num-
ber of smart, ambitious business people. At a time
when many brilliant people are looking for work,
Kaplan is focused on attracting and developing
talent. (Very talented people passionate about
education can apply to careers@kaplan.com.)
Kaplan is now headed by the remarkable Andy
Rosen, who has for years been the president of
Kaplan and the CEO who built its largest and
most successful business, Kaplan Higher Educa-
tion. And in 2008, Kaplan Higher Education
boomed; its revenues grew by 25% and its oper-
ating income by 34%. We couldn’t have a better
successor to Jonathan than Andy. Jeff Conlon,
who skillfully led the comeback of Kaplan Higher
Education campuses, became president of
Kaplan Higher Education.
In the long run, Kaplan has a chance to be sub-
stantially bigger and more profitable — and to
help its multitude of students achieve very good
outcomes. In the short run, we’ll continue to invest
to build Kaplan for the future — well over $30
million will be invested in 2009 operations, start-
ing new businesses and expanding familiar ones.
Cable ONE operates very differently from
any other cable company we know. Its quality of
service (very high) and its prices (relatively low)
have ensured loyal customers. Our markets —
smaller towns and cities not adjacent to large
metro areas — have been great communities to
operate in.
And our longtime CEO, Tom Might, and his
management team continue to deliver among
the best results in the cable business. Our per-
customer operating and capital expense are
among the lowest in the industry. Our revenue
grew through increases in high-speed and tele-
phone subscribers.
Operating income and free cash flow boomed in
2008. Results in 2009 may not be as strong, but
Cable ONE is well positioned to weather the
financial storm.
Virtually all of Post–Newsweek Stations’ revenue
comes from advertising, and that revenue fell
4% in 2008. $24 million in political advertising and
$6 million around the Olympics were not enough
to break the decline in our core business, partic-
ularly in automotive.
Our capable CEO, Alan Frank, hired Marla Drutz
as general manager of WDIV (NBC/Detroit);
Marla brought a dose of energy and market
knowledge to our second-largest station. KSAT
(ABC/San Antonio) and WPLG (ABC/Miami) led
their markets in ratings under general managers
Jim Joslyn and Dave Boylan. Our independent
station in Jacksonville, WJXT, had another
strong year, and our largest station, KPRC
(NBC/Houston), started to rebound. Henry
Maldonado announced his retirement this sum-
mer after decades of service, most recently as
6
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