WaPo staffers livid after chief editor downplays rate of cancellations: 'No one believes a word he's saying'

Tensions astatine nan Washington Post escalated connected Tuesday aft a company-wide gathering aimed astatine addressing nan fallout complete nan paper's deficiency of statesmanlike endorsement backfired internally.

NPR reported Tuesday that The Post has shed much than 250,000 subscribers since it revealed its editorial committee would not formally endorse a statesmanlike campaigner contempt readying to endorse Harris past week. The determination sparked an contiguous uproar astatine nan "Democracy Dies successful Darkness" paper. At slightest 2 members of nan Post's unit person resigned from nan paper, while different 2 near nan editorial committee while staying connected staff. Washington Post journalists are reportedly worried that nan abrupt nonaccomplishment successful subscribers could lead to occupation cuts.

The paper's executive editor, Matt Murray, addressed nan canceled subscriptions successful a unit gathering Tuesday afternoon, telling labor that he could not supply a number of canceled subscriptions because he was unaware of nan full magnitude to date, a Washington Post insider who was coming astatine nan gathering told Fox News Digital.

WAPO STAFFER UNSURE PAPER CAN RECOVER AS BEZOS-OWNED OUTLET SHEDS 250,000 SUBSCRIBERS OVER ENDORSEMENT FIASCO

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 3: Top Washington Post editor Matt Murray holds a unit gathering connected June 3, 2024. ((Photo by Robert Miller/The Washington Post via Getty Images))

His feigned ignorance infuriated staffers, according to nan source, who accused Murray of lying to hundreds of reporters to prevention face.

"No 1 believes a connection he's saying -- that he doesn't cognize nan subscriptions is beyond belief," nan insider said. "He did bespeak he was acrophobic of leaks… beryllium honorable [he tin say] 'I cognize nan number, it's not great, but I'm hopeful it will stabilize etc.'"

At different constituent during nan meeting, Murray apologized for nan backlash nan endorsement decision caused nan insubstantial and expressed appreciation for nan dedication of his staff, earlier declaring, "It’s done, it’s happened," nan insider told Fox News Digital. 

BEFORE NON-ENDORSEMENT DECISION, WASHINGTON POST CALLED TRUMP 'DREADFUL' AND 'WORST PRESIDENT OF MODERN TIMES'

Murray said he didn't want to cognize nan number of canceled subscriptions because he was convinced they would bounce backmost pinch time. He acknowledged nan losses were "substantial" and predicted a "bumpy" roadworthy up but said he was not informed of immoderate imminent occupation cuts aliases downsizing.

His effort to reassure a riled newsroom was "unsatisfactory and only made things worse," nan root said.

A trio of Post reporters wrote successful a file Sunday that affirmative soul momentum astatine their spot of employment "came to a halt" connected Friday erstwhile nan insubstantial revealed it would not endorse a statesmanlike candidate. In nan days since, an onslaught of readers posted connected social media astir canceling subscriptions successful protest, prompting Washington Post reporters to fret complete really galore subscribers would yet locomotion away. 

Billionaire and Washington Post proprietor Jeff Bezos wrote connected op-ed precocious explaining why his insubstantial did not endorse a statesmanlike campaigner this year.

"A cancellation activity swept done societal networks. Instead of utilizing an soul analytics instrumentality to cheque postulation to their ain stories, immoderate Post journalists utilized it to floor plan nan soaring number of subscribers visiting nan customer relationship page that allows them to cancel their subscriptions," Post reporters Manuel Roig-Franzia, Herb Scribner and Laura Wagner wrote successful a piece headlined "For The Post, much outrage from readers who opportunity they’ve canceled." 

An endorsement of Harris was reportedly drafted and fresh to people earlier it was abruptly shelved past Friday. The paper, which has been reliably dispute to erstwhile President Trump for years, has endorsed a Democrat for president successful each predetermination since 1976, isolated from for erstwhile it skipped 1 successful 1988.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Amazon laminitis Jeff Bezos, who bought nan insubstantial successful 2013, penned an op-ed defending The Post's decision, insisting that newspaper endorsements "do thing to extremity nan scales of an election" but alternatively "create a cognition of bias." He doubled down connected The Post's determination to extremity its statesmanlike endorsements by saying it's a "principled decision, and it's nan correct one."

The unit gathering comes a time aft erstwhile WaPo executive editor Marty Baron, who held Murray's position for astir a decade earlier retiring successful 2021, torched Bezos for "betraying nan principles he professed" and called non-endorsement determination "a superior mistake" that has "done tremendous harm to nan marque of nan Washington Post."

The Washington Post did not respond to Fox News Digital's petition for comment.

Fox News' David Rutz contributed to this report.