The Bezos-Washington Post crisis is getting worse

• The Washington Post said Friday it wouldn't endorse a statesmanlike candidate.
• The insubstantial has since mislaid 8% of paid subscriptions, NPR reported. Some staffers person resigned.
• Jeff Bezos, nan Washington Post's owner, explained nan determination successful an sentiment file Monday.

The Washington Post's determination not to endorse a campaigner successful nan statesmanlike predetermination whitethorn person costs it hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

More than 200,000 group person canceled their Post subscriptions since Friday, NPR's David Folkenflik reported Monday, citing 2 knowledgeable sources.

It's not different for group to cancel news subscriptions complete arguable contented aliases decisions, but specified protests are seldom important aliases long-lasting.

In nan lawsuit of nan Post, nan reported numbers correspond astir 8% of its paid circulation of 2.5 cardinal people and integer subscribers.

That would beryllium a important setback for Will Lewis, nan Post's president and CEO, who precocious trumpeted that nan insubstantial was increasing integer subs for nan first clip since 2021. A Washington Post spokesperson declined to comment.

Jeff Bezos, nan Washington Post's proprietor since 2013, explained nan determination successful an sentiment file published Monday.

He said astir group judge nan media is biased and statesmanlike endorsements don't help. "What statesmanlike endorsements really do is create a cognition of bias. A cognition of non-independence," he wrote. "Ending them is simply a opinionated decision, and it's nan correct one."

Lewis, who is nearing his first twelvemonth successful nan role, said successful May that nan Post mislaid $77 cardinal successful nan erstwhile twelvemonth and had been losing integer readers for years. "To speak candidly: We are successful a hole, and we person been for immoderate time," he told labor astatine nan time.

The newsroom is besides now grappling pinch immoderate unit protests and resignations. David Hoffman, who past week accepted a Pulitzer Prize, has discontinue nan editorial board, according to a resignation statement shared connected X. Molly Roberts, an editorial writer, posted to X complete nan play that she quit. Columnist Michele Norris and editor astatine ample Robert Kagan person near nan paper. Nineteen sentiment columnists signed a column protesting nan decision.

The determination has stoked fears that news outlets are censoring themselves successful fearfulness of erstwhile President Donald Trump, who has publically called for revenge against his enemies. The Los Angeles Times endorsed statewide candidates but declined to endorse a statesmanlike campaigner this year, prompting 3 unit resignations.

The New York Times reported connected Sunday that Bezos voiced reservations successful precocious September astir moving an endorsement.

The Times besides reported that nan Post's sentiment editor, David Shipley, told staffers Monday he had "tried difficult to dissuade Mr. Bezos" and that Shipley "did not explicate what rationale, if any, Mr. Bezos gave for his decision."

The Post had antecedently shared a connection from Lewis calling reporting astir Bezos' domiciled successful nan business inaccurate, saying: "He was not sent, did not publication and did not opine connected immoderate draft. As Publisher, I do not judge successful statesmanlike endorsements. We are an independent newspaper and should support our readers' expertise to dress up their ain minds."