"We wanted to do more than survive," said Mr Graham, whose mother Katharine was publisher in the Watergate era. "I'm not saying this guarantees success but it gives us a much greater chance of success." Katharine Weymouth, the newspaper's current publisher and Mr Graham's niece, said they were resolute that a buyer "had to share our values and commitment to journalism or we wouldn't sell it." "This is a day that my family and I never expected to come," she said. "The Washington Post Company is selling the newspaper that it has owned and nurtured for eight decades ".