Washington Post Loses Staggering Number Of Subscribers In Days After Non-Endorsement

In a departure from a tradition dating back to 1976, The Washington Post announced on Friday they would not endorse a presidential candidate in this year’s election, marking the first such break since the 1980s. Historically, the publication has supported Democratic nominees, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden.

This comes amid significant internal upheaval, including a substantial drop in digital subscriptions and multiple resignations from columnists, following owner Jeff Bezos’s decision to withhold an endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris.

As of midday Monday, over 200,000 digital subscribers had canceled their subscriptions, representing approximately 8% of the newspaper’s total paid circulation of 2.5 million, which includes print subscribers. The cancellations continued to accumulate into Monday afternoon, according to NPR.

Former Washington Post Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli told NPR on Monday, “It’s a colossal number. The problem is, people don’t know why the decision was made. We basically know the decision was made but we don’t know what led to it.”

More than 200,000 people have canceled their subscriptions to the Washington Post in revolt over the paper’s refusal to endorse Kamala for president. That’s some 8% of the paper’s subscribers. RIP.

𝕏 reigns supreme. pic.twitter.com/AvVutGbylg

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) October 28, 2024

The Post continues to reel following Bezos’s seismic decision to stop the paper’s editorial board from endorsing in the presidential race. Tempers flared brighter in the liberal reporting room after Bezos on Monday announced he expects the Post to pick up its pace of hiring conservative opinion writers. The paper’s publisher made the announcement on Friday, stating that the editorial board would not endorse any candidate for the 2024 presidential election. The editorial board’s decision to abstain from endorsing a candidate this year caught many by surprise. While the paper has a reputation for supporting liberal policies and candidates, this year’s choice has left Democrats, particularly Kamala Harris, navigating uncharted waters.

“The Washington Post will not be making an endorsement of a presidential candidate in this election. Nor in any future presidential election,” wrote William Lewis, the publisher and chief executive officer of The Washington Post. “We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates.” The post has never endorsed a Republican candidate for president.

The paper’s endorsements have historically played a significant role in bolstering Democratic campaigns, lending credibility and influence in the race. Without it, Harris and her supporters are left wondering what the absence of support from such a major media outlet might mean for her chances. This marks the first time since the 1988 contest that the Post will refrain from backing a candidate—when it chose not to endorse either Michael Dukakis or George H.W. Bush. The Post clarified that the choice was driven by a desire to ensure fair and objective reporting in a deeply polarized election cycle.

“Our job at The Washington Post is to provide through the newsroom nonpartisan news for all Americans, and thought-provoking, reported views from our opinion team to help our readers make up their own minds. Most of all, our job as the newspaper of the capital city of the most important country in the world is to be independent. And that is what we are and will be.”

(VOTE: Should ’60 Minutes’ Be Investigated For Deceptively Editing Kamala Interview?)