Washington Post Sees Drop in Subscribers After Choosing Not to Endorse Harris – One America News Network
OAN Staff James Meyers
9:40 AM – Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Over 250,000 Washington Post subscribers, or 10% of the newspaper’s customers have canceled their subscriptions after owner Jeff Bezos blocked its editorial board from publishing an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a report.
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The outlet lost over 200,000 subscribers over the weekend after it was first learned that management had decided it would no longer allow the editorial board to endorse a candidate for president in the current race, according to multiple reports.
The loss of customers comes after Bezos published an op-ed in his newspaper defending the move as “a principled decision” given that presidential endorsements “create a perception of bias.”
Bezos claimed the decision was made as an effort to support journalists and journalism, noting that in “surveys about trust and reputation, journalists and the media have regularly fallen near the very bottom, often just above Congress.”
“We have managed to fall below Congress. Our profession is now the least trusted of all. Something we are doing is clearly not working,” he wrote.
As a result, two of the newspaper’s columnists quit, and three of the nine members on the editorial board resigned.
Critics of Bezos’ decision suggested that he ordered the non-endorsement to protect his business interests, acting out of fear of retaliation if former President Donald Trump takes back the White House.
The Washington Post endorsed Trump’s rivals in 2016 and 2020, as the 45th president has been known for denouncing coverage by the outlet.
Additionally, in his column, Bezos stated that people can see his wealth and business interests as one of two things, a defensive wall against intimidation or a chain of conflicting interests.
“I challenge you to find one instance in those 11 years where I have prevailed upon anyone at the Post in favor of my own interests,” he wrote.
“It hasn’t happened.”
Other frustrated readers have abandoned another left-leaning outlet after it also decided to forego a Harris endorsement. The Los Angeles Times, whose billionaire owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, also intervened against the wishes of his editorial board.
Editorial board members at both newspapers resigned their positions in protest of the decision.
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