WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The Washington Post said Friday it was considering the sale of its headquarters in the city’s downtown district in a move which could provide needed cash for the struggling media firm.

Post publisher Katharine Weymouth said in an email to staff which was cited in an article in the daily that “our preliminary analysis suggests that a move will make good operational and economic sense.”

She said the newspaper is considering a move to “a more modern, bright, open and efficient building that better supports and advances our mission into the future,” but declined to elaborate.

The Post’s headquarters building, which dates from 1950, is a few blocks from the White House in the US capital’s central business district.

The Washington Post Co. selected two firms to advise the firm on real estate options. The daily said the properties owned and used by the newspaper had been assessed at nearly $80 million.

Weymouth said that the next steps were to “engage the market for our current headquarters, identify sites where we could relocate, design our new space, and develop a realistic timeline for a move.”

Like other newspapers, The Post has struggled with a transition to digital platforms and declining print circulation and advertising.

The Washington Post Company earlier this month reported a quarterly profit of $93.8 million, but that came from operations outside the flagship daily newspaper, which recorded an operating loss of $21.8 million.