The Washington Post Launches New Social Reader App on Facebook® at f8 Developer Conference

Today at f8, Facebook’s developer conference, The Washington Post announced the launch of Washington Post Social Reader, a new social app on Facebook that gives people an easy way to experience news and information with their friends.

WP Social Reader provides full access within Facebook to stories from The Post and selected news and entertainment sources and allows instant, one-click sharing of stories. All a person needs to do is read a story in the Facebook app and it will be posted to his or her Facebook profile and to their friends’ News Feeds, giving readers quick access to the stories their friends find interesting.

WP Social Reader also recommends content, creating a highly personalized news experience by publishing a selection of articles tailored to each person. The app creates recommendations by taking into consideration stories a person and his or her friends have read, plus interests from the person’s Facebook profile and topics trending in the news. As additional friends join the app, the experience becomes even more personal and relevant.

"This new app is fun,” said Donald Graham, chairman and CEO of The Washington Post Company. "The Washington Post Social Reader is a way for people to connect around the day’s latest happenings and discover real-time news with their friends on Facebook. If you know that several of your friends have read a story, you’ll be more interested in it. We encourage people to try it out with their friends and keep up-to-date on the news.”

The app experience is fully embedded within Facebook and a person must opt-in before he or she can access it. Stories about articles read will only appear on Facebook if a person has given permission to the app and read the story on Facebook. Once someone has opted in, activity on the app will be featured on the person’s profile and within the app itself. To get on WP Social Reader, users can go to www.facebook.com/socialreader.

Opting out is just as easy as opting in. People can always control who can see their activity on the app or remove the app at any time by going to the applications settings page on Facebook. They can also click the "Mark item as unread” link at the bottom of each article to delete stories from Facebook.

"With WP Social Reader, you can read what your friends are reading and discover new content tuned for you. It is an immersive social experience that will get better as more of your friends join in,” said Vijay Ravindran, Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer of The Washington Post Company. "As people continue to read news across social platforms, we are excited to work with Facebook to create an app designed to be social from the ground up.”

"WP Social Reader allows us to experiment with a new way for readers to discover and interact with the top-quality journalism for which we are known,” said Marcus Brauchli, executive editor of The Washington Post. "One of our goals at The Post is to more deeply engage readers in our journalism and our digital offerings have become increasingly social as a result.”

"Discovering and reading news has always been better when shared with friends, and today The Washington Post is bringing that same feeling online through their app on Facebook Platform,” said Ethan Beard, Director Platform Partnerships, Facebook. "The Washington Post is making it easier for people to connect around the news they find most interesting, and discover more relevant content as a result."

Washington Post Social Reader’s wide range of personalized content recommendations come from The Washington Post and its partners: The Associated Press, Express Night Out, Foreign Policy, GlobalPost, Mashable, The A.V. Club, Reuters, The Root, SB Nation, Slate, Sugar Inc. and Wetpaint Entertainment. Other news sources will continue to be added.

For more information, visit www.washingtonpost.com/socialreader.

About The Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com)

The Washington Post provides award-winning news and understanding about the politics, policies, personalities and institutions that make Washington, D.C. the world’s seat of power, and is a critical tool and information source for those who call Washington, D.C. home. In digital form, The Washington Post combines its world-class journalism with the latest technology and tools, and encourages participation and customization across all platforms so readers can engage with The Washington Post anytime, anywhere. The Washington Post is owned by The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO), a diversified education and media company.

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