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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  • makingStuffForFun@lemmy.ml
    0·
    7 days ago

    I have not been following this.

    So, the headline says that the post is not endorsing a candidate.

    And due to that, people are cancelling subscriptions.

    Erm. Journalism should not be endorsing a candidate. Only reporting on events in an unbiased manner.

    What am I missing?

    • Drusas@fedia.io
      0·
      6 days ago

      It is extremely common for newspapers to support a candidate. Maybe even the norm. It certainly is for local politics.

    • kriz@slrpnk.net
      0·
      6 days ago

      Jesus christ ppl don’t downvote someone for respectfully asking a question.

      • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        6 days ago

        I don’t think it was the question, I think it was this:

        Journalism should not be endorsing a candidate

        Which sounds like it’s arguing against freedom of the press.

    • ALQ@lemmy.world
      0·
      6 days ago

      You are missing literally all of the context. WaPo has endorsed in every presidential election since 1988. Suddenly, weeks before an incredibly contentious election, and right around the time Bezos-owned businesses met with Trump, this Bezos-owned publication decides to “return” to its “roots” (after three and a half decades). Even if it’s not actually sinister (debatable, but we may never know), the appearance of impropriety is a serious issue and damages WaPo’s credibility.

    • NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world
      0·
      6 days ago

      That’s great in theory, but this isn’t the Election to not endorse a candidate. They’ve also been endorsing candidates for a while. So it’s a clear signal of bezos tacit endorsement of trump.

    • celeste@kbin.earth
      0·
      7 days ago

      Their editorial board has endorsed candidates for years. They were prepared to do so again, and then bezos met with trump and canceled the endorsement that was all ready to go. If they had stopped endorsements earlier, it wouldn’t be notable.

    • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      0·
      7 days ago

      One candidate is a politician. One candidate is a fascist.

      There’s a very clear dichotomy. And this is the first time in 50 years that they’re NOT making an endorsement. It’s very obviously an attempt by Bezos to avoid being targeted by Trump’s wrath if he wins.

      • xtr0n@sh.itjust.works
        0·
        6 days ago

        Side note. What’s the point of having Fuck You money if you’re afraid to say “fuck you” to fascists?

        • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          0·
          6 days ago

          I get what you’re saying, but Trump winning would imply a very explicit weaponization of the DoJ against Trump’s enemies, in a way that their money wouldn’t protect them.

          There’s a pertinent, current example: Putin and Russia. Super rich oligarchs fall out of windows onto several bullets in the backs of their heads all the time in Moscow these days.

          • xtr0n@sh.itjust.works
            0·
            6 days ago

            So, rather than using his considerable power and resources to prevent this tragic outcome, he’s electing to preemptively kiss ass and hope it’s enough to keep the eye of sauron aimed elsewhere? Fucking selfish coward. No matter how much Bezos could risk by standing up, ordinary people will always be at greater risk when they stand up. He can hire next level security, travel anywhere in the world and still be safer and more comfortable than any of us going to protests in any major city.

    • cAUzapNEAGLb@lemmy.world
      0·
      7 days ago

      The editorial board had written an unpublished endorsement for Harris, and they have been publicly endorsing presidents for the past ~50 years. This year they did not, and recently it was made public why: the billionaire owner, Jeff bezos, ordered them not to.

      It is more about there being proof that the owner is having editorial control of the paper, than about any endorsement.

      The owner controlling editorial decisions is to many, myself included who also cancelled my subscription, a violation of journalistic principles and not the product we are paying for.

      I want to read a publication where skilled journalists can speak their mind, and that is no longer certain at the Washington Post, instead I must interpret their opinions as filtered through a billionaire’s goals and opinions. I do not want to pay for that.

    • zoostation@lemmy.world
      0·
      7 days ago

      Newspapers report facts in one section and editorial opinions in a different section. They are clearly compartmentalized from each other. They are both useful. The editorial staff has a long history of making presidential endorsements. We’re free to disagree with the endorsement, they are not telling us what to think, just giving us a perspective to consider among all the others we hear.

      What the Post did is highly abnormal. It’s not like the editorial staff decided out of nowhere to write up this endorsement. They did because it’s an automatic thing they’re expected to do before elections.

      Think about watching a sports broadcast. There’s typically two guys, one reporting play by play (facts) and the other adding color/analysis.