Reader backlash against decision not to make presidential endorsement rolls on despite Bezos defense of decision

Deterioration of the Washington Post’s subscriber base continued on Tuesday, hours after its proprietor, Jeff Bezos, defended the decision to forgo formally endorsing a presidential candidate as part of an effort to restore trust in the media.

The publication has now shed 250,000 subscribers, or 10% of the 2.5 million customers it had before the decision was made public on Friday, according to the NPR reporter David Folkenflik.

A day earlier, 200,000 had left according to the same outlet.

The numbers are based on the number of cancellation emails that have been sent out, according to a source at the paper, though the subscriber dashboard is no longer viewable to employees.

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  • @xantoxisEnglish
    17•2 months ago

    Sure he needs to be taxed into dust. But he doesn’t own the WaPo because it’s making him rich. He runs it because it’s a propaganda machine for him.

    He lost 10% of his subscribers, almost immediately, when he tried to use it that way openly. Which says:

    • it’s now a 10% less effective propaganda machine (and that number will keep growing)
    • it’s possible that it was never effective in the first place

    Given those two propositions, he might just unload it, which would be nice for the rest of us.

    • @MataVatnik
      7•2 months ago

      Yeah, its just I can’t believe I’m living in cyberpunk shitty guilded age 2.0