The Washington Post declined to endorse a Candidate for President this election. The decision has created friction. Washington Post loses 250K subscribers for not endorsing Kamala Harris
The reporters’ pleas are simple: Don’t break up with us. Writers for the Washington Post have taken to social media in recent days to discourage irate readers from dropping their subscriptions after the paper announced it wouldn’t be endorsing any candidate for the 2024 presidential election. The wave of customer defections after the controversial decision, which was made by owner Jeff Bezos, has further eroded an already shrunken base of Post subscribers and heightened feelings among some staff that the paper faces an existential crisis. “Please don’t cancel your subscriptions. It won’t impact Bezos – it hurts journalists and makes another round of layoffs more likely,” Amanda Morris, a Washington Post disability reporter, wrote on X. High-profile reporters and editors from the New York Times, the Atlantic and elsewhere joined the chorus on Tuesday and Wednesday, using the hashtag #WhyISubscribe on X to explain the journalistic value of the Washington Post’s newsroom. Upward of 250,000 people have canceled their Post subscriptions since the nonendorsement decision went public late last week, according to the Post’s own reporting Wednesday, citing documents and people familiar with the matter. A Post spokeswoman declined to comment on subscription numbers. The cancellations put a dent in a turnaround effort by publisher William Lewis that is focused on growing digital subscribers and stemming losses. The Post had roughly three million digital subscribers in January of 2021, but gains there have stagnated. Last year, it lost $77 million, and subscriptions have hovered around 2.5 million, according to people familiar with the matter. Employees are concerned about both the ramifications of the decision on the Post’s reputation, and how it will impact their jobs—including possible cuts—according to staffers. Interim executive editor Matt Murray held a staff meeting on Tuesday, but he didn’t shed much light on the actual impact of the decision not to endorse presidential candidates or what it means for reporters, said employees who attended. He told staff he didn’t know a specific number in terms of subscriber losses, beyond saying that the numbers would be “bumpy and rough” for a couple of weeks, according to one of the people who attended the meeting. People can easily cancel most print or digital Post subscriptions online and maintain access to Post content until their annual contracts expire. Those who subscribe to both print and digital versions of the paper are directed to a customer-service phone number.
Surprise, surprise….Bezos fled Wa state and avoided capital gains on a big stock sale. Need more proof the wealthy don’t have our interests in mind.
The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.
