WaPo Hemorrhages 8% of Subscribers Over No-Endorsement Policy
The Washington Post is facing major disruption after owner Jeff Bezos’s decision to block the newspaper’s planned endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race, resulting in more than 200,000 canceled digital subscriptions and multiple staff resignations.
The cancellations, representing approximately 8% of the Post’s 2.5 million total subscribers, came after the paper announced Friday it would no longer make presidential endorsements. The editorial board had already drafted an endorsement for Harris before Bezos intervened.
Several prominent staff members have departed in protest. Robert Kagan, an editor-at-large, resigned completely, while editorial board members Molly Roberts and David Hoffman stepped down from their board positions.
Roberts said the “imperative to endorse Kamala Harris over Donald Trump is about as morally clear as it gets.” Hoffman, who recently received a Pulitzer Prize, will maintain his role at the paper despite leaving the board, stating, “I refuse to give up on The Post, where I have spent 42 years.”
The timing of the decision has drawn criticism from both current and former Post leadership. Former Executive Editor Marty Baron noted that while ending endorsements could be reasonable, the decision’s proximity to the election and lack of editorial board consultation suggested other motivations.
In response to the controversy, Bezos published a statement Monday evening defending his decision as “principled” and aimed at reducing perceived media bias.
“By itself, declining to endorse presidential candidates is not enough to move us very far up the trust scale, but it’s a meaningful step in the right direction,” Bezos wrote. “I wish we had made the change earlier than we did, in a moment further from the election and the emotions around it. That was inadequate planning, and not some intentional strategy.”
Bezos addressed speculation about potential business conflicts, particularly after executives from his aerospace company Blue Origin met with former President Trump the same day as the announcement. Bezos claimed he was unaware of this meeting beforehand.
The Post’s editorial page editor, David Shipley, reportedly attempted to persuade Bezos to reconsider but was unsuccessful. A subsequent staff meeting revealed internal tension, with employees requesting direct communication with Bezos.
Many critics have pointed to the Post’s motto, “democracy dies in darkness,” in their criticism of the decision. The development follows a similar move by the Los Angeles Times, which also announced it would cease presidential endorsements and experienced subscription cancellations as a result.
The Post’s publisher Will Lewis framed the decision as returning to the paper’s roots as an “independent paper,” though internal sources indicate skepticism about this explanation given the timing and circumstances of the announcement.
The newspaper’s spokesperson has declined to comment on the subscription cancellations, citing the Post’s status as a private company.
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