WaPo's Subscriber Count Drops by 200,000 Following Bezos' Harris Block – Reports
The newspaper has allegedly experienced an 8% decline in its paid subscriptions following the owner's decision to discontinue a long-standing policy of endorsing Democrats. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
The Washington Post has disrupted a longstanding practice by not endorsing a Democrat for the presidency for the first time in nearly 50 years.
According to NPR, more than 200,000 individuals have canceled their subscriptions to the newspaper following the decision by its owner, Jeff Bezos, to end the tradition of endorsing presidential candidates. Since 1976, the Post has consistently backed Democratic candidates, but on Friday, the newspaper announced it would not provide an endorsement this election cycle, resulting in Vice President Kamala Harris being the first Democrat in decades to miss the Post’s support.
The announcement has reportedly upset many of the Post’s liberal readers, leading to the cancellation of 200,000 digital subscriptions by Monday afternoon. This figure, representing around 8% of the paper’s total paid subscribers, has continued to rise in the subsequent hours, as confirmed by two unnamed sources within the Washington Post.
Notable figures who have canceled their subscriptions include Oscar-nominated actor Jeffrey Wright and Bradley Whitford, known for his role in “The West Wing.”
In reaction to the decision, three members of the newspaper’s ten-person editorial board have resigned. Additionally, 21 opinion columnists from the Post issued a statement labeling the non-endorsement as “a terrible mistake,” emphasizing that “this isn’t the right moment, when one candidate is advocating positions that directly threaten freedom of the press and the values of the Constitution.”
In an op-ed published on Monday, Bezos articulated that “presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales in an election” and that they “create a perception of bias.” He contended that discontinuing these endorsements would help to rebuild public trust in the media, noting that journalists are currently regarded as less trustworthy by Americans than members of Congress.
Last month, Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, announced that the publication would also refrain from making presidential endorsements. On Monday, USA Today declared it would withhold backing for either Harris or former President Donald Trump. The LA Times has a history of endorsing Democrats in every election since reestablishing its endorsement policy in 2008, while USA Today supported Biden in 2020 and deemed Trump “unfit for the presidency” in 2016.
Endorsements have continued from other publications, with the New York Times, Boston Globe, Seattle Times, Las Vegas Sun, and the New Yorker supporting Harris, while Trump has the backing of the New York Post, Washington Times, and Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Mathilde Moreau for TROIB News
According to NPR, more than 200,000 individuals have canceled their subscriptions to the newspaper following the decision by its owner, Jeff Bezos, to end the tradition of endorsing presidential candidates. Since 1976, the Post has consistently backed Democratic candidates, but on Friday, the newspaper announced it would not provide an endorsement this election cycle, resulting in Vice President Kamala Harris being the first Democrat in decades to miss the Post’s support.
The announcement has reportedly upset many of the Post’s liberal readers, leading to the cancellation of 200,000 digital subscriptions by Monday afternoon. This figure, representing around 8% of the paper’s total paid subscribers, has continued to rise in the subsequent hours, as confirmed by two unnamed sources within the Washington Post.
Notable figures who have canceled their subscriptions include Oscar-nominated actor Jeffrey Wright and Bradley Whitford, known for his role in “The West Wing.”
In reaction to the decision, three members of the newspaper’s ten-person editorial board have resigned. Additionally, 21 opinion columnists from the Post issued a statement labeling the non-endorsement as “a terrible mistake,” emphasizing that “this isn’t the right moment, when one candidate is advocating positions that directly threaten freedom of the press and the values of the Constitution.”
In an op-ed published on Monday, Bezos articulated that “presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales in an election” and that they “create a perception of bias.” He contended that discontinuing these endorsements would help to rebuild public trust in the media, noting that journalists are currently regarded as less trustworthy by Americans than members of Congress.
Last month, Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, announced that the publication would also refrain from making presidential endorsements. On Monday, USA Today declared it would withhold backing for either Harris or former President Donald Trump. The LA Times has a history of endorsing Democrats in every election since reestablishing its endorsement policy in 2008, while USA Today supported Biden in 2020 and deemed Trump “unfit for the presidency” in 2016.
Endorsements have continued from other publications, with the New York Times, Boston Globe, Seattle Times, Las Vegas Sun, and the New Yorker supporting Harris, while Trump has the backing of the New York Post, Washington Times, and Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Mathilde Moreau for TROIB News
