Editor resigns, subscribers cancel as Washington Post non-endorsement prompts crisis at Bezos paper

[aggiesal]

Last edited Fri Oct 25, 2024, 07:11 PM - Edit history (3)

Source: Semafor

The Washington Post's leadership recently sought meetings with the Democratic and Republican nominees for president, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, people familiar with the requests said. Neither campaign scheduled the meeting, Post editors assured the Harris campaign a meeting wouldn't affect an endorsement. And insiders and outsiders alike assumed the Post would choose the Democrat, as virtually every American newspaper has in the last two elections.

Friday, readers and employees learned otherwise: The Post, following the Los Angeles Times (as first reported by Semafor), will no longer endorse candidates. Post editor Will Lewis wrote that "we know" some readers will take the decision as "an abdication of responsibility," and many of his employees appear to have done so. (A person familiar with the numbers said the failure to meet, indeed, had no impact on the decision.)

The first prominent journalist, editor-at-large Robert Kagan, resigned Friday in response to the decision, Semafor first reported. But there may be more: "people are shocked, furious, surprised," said an editorial board member, citing internal discussions around resignation. "If you don't have the balls to own a newspaper, don't."

...

Read more: https://www.semafor.com/article/10/25/2024/editor-resign-subscribers-cancel-as-washington-post-non-endorsement-prompts-crisis-at-bezos-paper

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I just cancelled my subscription to Washington Post, so that makes about 2001
Anyone in DU cancel their subscription?

One person familiar with the figures told Semafor that the decision already seemed to be impacting subscriptions. In the 24 hours ending Friday afternoon, about 2,000 subscribers canceled their subscriptions, an unusually high number, an employee said.

Here is the WaPo link to see the 19,000+ comments on the non-endorse story. Lots of cancellations.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/10/25/washington-post-endorsement/

[Ocelot II]

1. I did!

[Dock_Yard]

120. I canceled Friday, even though I had paid $120 for Feb'24-Feb'25.

[SallyHemmings]

126. Me too!

[QED]

2. Make that 2002 cancellations

[moonshinegnomie]

19. 2003

[Big Blue Marble]

3. I did.

Just like that... and I have subscripting to the Post since the seventies.

I read on the Post comments that the cancellations were running at 10,000
per hour. Not sure the paper survives, but then who needs a paper that
you cannot trust.

[BattleRow]

33. WaPoor

[Jrose]

4. I unsubscribed to WaPo after ten years. At its online comments section as of this hour,

over 16,000 readers stated they would cancel their subscriptions.

The Washington Post's credo has been for years that 'democracy dies in darkness'. If 2024 presidential candidate, Trump, gets elected, democracy will die in the dark shadow of media silence, especially the silence of a major newspaper such as the Washington Post.
Only one candidate -- VP Kamala Harris -- represents democracy and human rights. The other one is on a mission to become a fascistic, narcissistic and racist tyrant.
WaPo is saying, in essence, that the bringer of darkness is equally as acceptable as the champion of democracy and human dignity.
I have therefore discontinued my decade-long paid subscription to Washington Post unless and until it shows what it stands for.

[aggiesal]

11. I sent this to Washington Post on Twitter (currently known as X) ...

@washingtonpost
I guess the lights just went out on Democracy.
Your decision, based on your motto "Democracy Dies in Darkness", is Irony Deficient.

[MadameButterfly]

107. They are saying that they'd rather survive collaborating with a dictator

than help democracy win so they would never have to make that choice. Is it seriously worth it to be printing his propaganda? The hero of 1972 is now the Vichy regime.

[LibinMo]

5. I already had

Due to the way they treated Biden. Now I'm looking for a replacement. I'd appreciate suggestions from like minded Democrats. My local paper was ruined when Gannet took over a few years back, doesn't do much in depth reporting. This is MAGA country anyway.

[TBF]

8. Honestly the best subscription I still have is the Guardian.

Which is pretty pathetic considering they aren't even in this country.

[LearnedHand]

14. Agree. The Guardian isn't shareholder owned

[Wednesdays]

36. We are coming dangerously close to a consolidated State Media

But one wholly devoted to fascism.

[TBF]

76. In Nazi Germany Hitler waited until he was in office a bit before

ending freedom of the press. They are preemptively trying to work on their Project 2025.

[reACTIONary]

58. You might try the....

.... New York Times.

[littlemissmartypants]

62. I just subscribed to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Kicking WaPo to the curb.

Those are my recommendations. ❤️

https://www.inquirer.com/

[ananda]

6. I cancelled mine two years ago.

And I cancelled the NYT several months ago.

I don't subscribe to anything now.

[aggiesal]

12. I cancelled my NYT subscription about 2+ years ago. n/t

[TBF]

7. I canceled when I heard this morning -

I only had it because I used to live in the DC area (I'm in Texas now). They can go to he**. And the only thing they'll understand is less $$ coming in.

[BonnieJW]

82. This was a huge

WAPO mistake. Magats certainly don't subscribe to that paper so the only ones they were going to alienate were going to be dems.

[barbtries]

9. yes, many of us

and many others throughout the country.
I also canceled my prime subscription today. shoulda done it long ago.

[aggiesal]

13. I don't shop at Walmart and I try to limit Amazon only as a last resort. I don't have a Prime account ...

I'm wondering how many will cancel their Prime Video account.
That's asking a lot, since Prime has the contract for Thursday Night NFL broadcast.

[barbtries]

17. i canceled both today.

fortunately for me i don't follow football.

been spending a lot of time reading the comments on WP - i suspect that Bezos is losing thousands of subscribers today and will continue to.

[aggiesal]

22. WP comments? n/t

[barbtries]

72. here's the link

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/10/25/washington-post-endorsement/

must be about 20,000 or so comments and probably half or more of them announce their cancellation of the WP

[aggiesal]

73. Thanks, I updated the main post with that link. n/t

[Dem4life1234]

117. It's not like maggots read

They should have eaten their food and endorsed the correct candidate.

[krkaufman]

124. " I don't have a Prime account ..."

Subscribe ... and then cancel the next day. (You get a full refund so long as you don't actually use any of the Prime services.)

Link to tweet

[japple]

130. I also cancelled my WAPO subscription and amazon prime. I hope they

bleed to death.

[Mme. Defarge]

10. Did it today!

It’s called feedback.

[moreland01]

15. I did.

Where is everyone going for the wide array of daily news now? Guardian?

[Jrose]

25. Yes, the 'Guardian' --- also, 'The Independent', the 'NY Daily News'

[AZ8theist]

71. The Guardian hasn't exactly been friendly towards President Biden.

But on the whole, the American press has been an absolute joke compared to England and Europe.
Even al Jazerra has been more credible.

[Dem4life1234]

118. Because Euros and many other countries know what fascism is

[paleotn]

16. I'm done with them.

[Augiedog]

18. My wife is canceling our W.P. Subscription as I type this.

There is a reason some conscientious people say “ democracy dies in darkness” . Gee, where have I read that before…hmmm.

[dsvajda]

20. Saving $120

Looks like I'll have a little more to spend on my grandchildren for Christmas and I won't have to read Marc Thiessen's drivel any more.

[Espoir]

21. Done, today.

My only regret is that in the future I won't be able to quit them again. Bye.

[spooky3]

79. welcome to DU! nt

[yliza]

23. I did

My subscription was supposed to be up for renewal on Halloween, so they’re losing my support right before the election.

[Marthe48]

24. Is ProPublica an alternative?

https://www.propublica.org/

I haven't subscribed to a paper, local or national for a long time. The local paper endorsed p.o.s bush for his 2nd run. I had a wapo subscription in 2017, decided not to renew when I realized that papers like that would let traitor go on and on to sell their rag and not actually take up against him.

Since Nov. 9 2016, I have looked for one headline every morning. When I see that headline, I will be thrilled.

[erronis]

54. ProPublica is absolutely a wonderful source of information.

They don't tend to be geared to the latest breaking news stories nor so concentrated on the political machinations.

But their in-depth reporting - and continuing to dig into stories for months and years, is absolutely incredible.

Add in Kaiser Health News (khn.org) if you're looking for in-depth reporting on healthcare (and the business of).

[travelingthrulife]

115. Excellent paper but not so much for daily news consumption.

Seems like the tumbrels need to roll for these anti-democracy rich folks.

[OldSWODog]

26. democracy dies in darkness

...and WaPo just unscrewed the lightbulb...I cancelled our WaPo, LAT, NYT subscriptions in the last half hour...and I'm upping my monthly donation to the Guardian...cheers, OSD

[aggiesal]

29. See my response #11 above. n/t

[OldSWODog]

42. irony deficiency (great description)

aggiesal, greetings...I posted mine before reading all of the responses...you and I are in concurrance; I'm glad to be a fellow traveler...cheers, OSD

[aggiesal]

52. Greetings ...

[jfz9580m]

122. The Guardian is a Decent Paper

They are unambiguously progressive. If I ever get a regular print subscription they are my first choice. Right now I just donate occasionally to a couple of left zines (Current Affairs - I am a fan of Nathan Robinson, BlackAgendaReport) and more rarely The Guardian.

I have donated to Vox, because I do love Maria Bolotnikova’s animal rights reporting, but overall I have mixed feelings about them on account of their perpetuation of that bullshit hysteria over declining birth rates. It is because of their ties to Si Valley/the effective altruists. Totally environmentally irresponsible. They sound like J D Vance or other pro-natalists.

Every time I see anything by Kelsey Piper I regret having ever donated to Vox.

[ralps]

27. I did!!

[JustTooMuch]

28. Subscription cancelled

I cancelled mine. Was contemplating cancelling for a while due to their right wing bias becoming more and more prevalent. Glad it’s gone

[johnnyfins]

30. The Post is now irrelevant.

Can NEVER be a trusted news source again. As I said in an earlier post: People love Amazon, they don't NEED Amazon.

[Crowman2009]

113. I've been putting my wishlist on a spreadsheet, and just find other places to buy items.

With books for instance, I buy mostly at Barnes & Noble.

[JHB]

31. Just finished doing that

In his note, the publisher says "but in 1976 for understandable reasons at the time, we changed this long-standing policy and endorsed Jimmy Carter as president."

He does not elaborate on what the "understandable reasons at the time" were, likely because enumerating them would expose how un-understandable it is to choose this particular election to go back to the earlier non-endorsement (except once for Eisenhower) policy.

"Democracy dies in darkness", eh? Hell of a time to turn off the light switch.

[aggiesal]

37. See my response #11 above. n/t

[dexdah]

32. Just Cancelled

I'm done with the oligarch media!

[Keepthesoulalive]

34. Canceled mine

Not one dime to these traitors.

[Marigold]

35. Cancelled today

[ShazzieB]

38. I already canceled my subscription before this happened.

So it doesn't really count. But if I hadn't already canceled, I would now.

[HAB911]

39. Is cancelling PRIME next?

I'm considering it. This could be the thing that brings back local business, just sayin'

[onecaliberal]

43. I cancelled prime in August. I hope everyone does.

You’re still supporting the fascists if you don’t. If you need something same day, just go shopping.

[HAB911]

44. I fought using them for so long...........

capitulated eventually. Time to bring back local business.

[onecaliberal]

48. I have a list of brands and stores I avoid.

I try to always shop small business too.

[chowder66]

40. "If you don't have the balls to own a newspaper, don't." ....perfectly said.

[malthaussen]

41. That's two editors with guts, anyway.

I am impressed.

-- Mal

[slightlv]

45. I cancelled mine!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

46. WaPo is no longer even fit for wipo.

[qanda]

47. I canceled and bought a DU membership

With the savings.

[bottomofthehill]

77. Thank you, exactly. They have lost the mantle of pro democracy.

Canceling subscription now.

[bottomofthehill]

78. Thank you, exactly. They have lost the mantle of pro democracy.

Canceling subscription now.

[TygrBright]

49. New motto: "Democracy Dies in Cowardly Greed" n/t

[liberalgunwilltravel]

50. Cancelled mine

Fuck Lewis, Bezos, Trump, Putin, and Musk.

[usregimechange]

51. I canceled a few hours ago.

[mdbl]

53. It's obvious the owners of LA Times and Washington Post don't care if they exist in the future

They are too wealthy to give a shit. Although you would think Bezos wouldn't be such a weenie since he can just take off to another planet if it gets too rough down here for him.

[Clouds Passing]

55. Unionize Amazon!

[Godot51]

56. The "media" is the message.

We are the "media".

Watch us make the news.

[c-rational]

57. I cancelled about 6 months ago. Done.

[tishaLA]

59. I just subscribed last month

And cancelled today.

Ironically, I subscribed because I decided my hometown newspaper, the LA Times, wasn't meeting the moment.

[keithbvadu2]

60. Ironic how a non-endorsement causes more uproar than a 'wrong' endorsement.

[aggiesal]

61. Bezos forgot to take his Irony Deficient tablets before he made this decision. n/t

[Captain Zero]

63. Everyone. Drop Amazon Prime too.

If you can
I've determined that I can do it.

Fuck Jeff Bezos.

[irisblue]

64. I canceled my WaPo subscription this afternoon. I had been subscriber since 2000

[dsharp88]

65. I canceled the minute I heard the news.

If EVER there was an election to endorse as a show of press freedom this one was it.

[littlemissmartypants]

66. I wonder if...

It's possible to sign up and cancel several times in one day without any penalty?

If so it'd be worth it to do so, just to run up the number of cancelations.

[somaticexperiencing]

67. me too. pleasure to cancel. let them know a piece of my mind as well.

[mac56]

68. I did

[DemonGoddess]

69. I did when this story broke earlier

[cutroot]

70. Whatever the price. It is too much to pay for right wing fish wrap

[CCExile]

74. Canceled today, goes into effect Nov. 8th.

[LymphocyteLover]

75. I cancelled

[mountain grammy]

80. Mine expired earlier this year

Right after the Alito flag incident. I decided the Washington Post didn’t need me.

[BlueKota]

81. Canceled was due to

renew in January. Fuck them.

[MontanaFarmer]

83. Yup i canceled mine.

[cate94]

84. I cancelled today

Unfortunately I’m paid through April.

[electron_blue]

85. I cancelled!

I also wrote them and explained why.

[pspro]

86. a few media alternatives for the growing list...

I don't love all their coverage on everything but they are not part of this particular problem...

National/International
ProPublica: https://www.propublica.org
The New Republic: https://newrepublic.com/pages/about
The Guardian (as many have pointed out): http://guardian.co.uk
The Globe and Mail (Canada): https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Not sure if they do endorsements or not but they seem somewhat evenhanded, ymmv:
USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com

Here's an ongoing wiki list (so leaving it to you to confirm veracity) of media endorsements including local media, fyi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_media_endorsements_in_the_2024_United_States_presidential_election

[Bumbles]

87. I'm done after 64 years as a reader.

[Mysterian]

88. Now we know who Bezos is

The only good thing about this incident.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

89. Just cancelled my subscription.

I feel sick about it because I first subscribed based on the 2016 election.

[denvine]

90. Yep, I did today!

[Kali]

91. canceled WAPO today

NYT a while back, never had amazon prime in my life, sent the Guardian $50.

[nankerphelge]

92. Canceled mine!

Will send the money to The Guardian or Media's Touch instead.

[catbyte]

93. I canceled today too. And ironically, TCM is showing "All The President's Men" tonight.

[orleans]

94. a few replies to wapo tweet on israel's attack on iran:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[jvill]

95. Canceled

[CaptainTruth]

96. We canceled our WaPo subscription today.

[moniss]

97. Bezos love of money

and his desire for more by way of tax breaks is on full display.

[niyad]

98. HEY, editorial board member, can we PLEASE stop using slang for male

genitalia as a synonym for courage??? There are at least 30 of them.Get a damned dictionary, or look one up online if your patriarchal little brain cannot think of one.

[liberalmediaaddict]

99. I recently renewed mine for a year

Or I would cancel.
I didn't know they were going to help democracy die in darkness.

[NewHendoLib]

100. Never had a subscription to WAPO. I cancelled my NYT when they trashed Biden. All I have is DU!

[VMA131Marine]

101. I cancelled my on-line subscription

Cowards!

[dem4decades]

102. 2000? I thought it would be many times that number. I did cancel 2.

[aggiesal]

104. That was around noon ...

If you look at the link I supplied, where you can read the comments, the last time I looked, it was fast approaching 20,000 comments, where it seems like 50% were subscription cancellation comments.
So about 10,000.
WaPo stated that 2,000 was a lot.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

103. I think the owners wanted the cancellations

My humble opinion: I think Bezos wants the cancellations as an excuse to kill off the print edition.

As a practical matter, newspaper endorsements aren't relevant in 2024.

[Figarosmom]

105. Those that are quiting should write their own endorsement and run it b

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

106. I canceled my months ago after getting fed up with their fuckery.

[camartinwv]

108. I canceled WP

[Old Crank]

109. I will be also.

I'll miss the 4 day a week cooking news letter but that is a small price to pay.
I'll have to drop out of my other Amazon products also.
Dealing with the books I have bought electronically will be a pain.

[C Moon]

110. Class war election. When do billionaires ever have full bellies?

[neohippie]

111. Yes

I cancelled mine too

Sadly the paper in my opinion has been in decline and I was getting tired of all the right wing opinion writers too

[keithbvadu2]

112. Ironic how a non-endorsement causes more uproar than a 'wrong' endorsement.

[Farmer-Rick]

114. I canceled my prime

And I'm looking for other sites to get the stuff I need. NOT AMAZON.

[La Urraca]

116. Cancelled .

I cannot support WP cowardice .
Going to not renew Amazon
Bravo Ann Telnes 💘

[arkielib]

119. I canceled my subscription yesterday.

So I'm one of the "about 2000". I hope there are a lot more.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

121. Bezos is trying to avoid pissing off MAGAt Amazon customers.

Demonstrates the problem with a dominant consumer retail company owning a major media company.

Also avoids him and Amazon experiencing thousands of death and other violent act threats, not to mention thousands of fake bad product reviews on Amazon.

This is not the way democracy is supposed to work.

KY.......

[aggiesal]

125. It's much bigger than that. Bezos has bid on government contracts against MicroSoft ...

He doesn't want to endorse Harris/Walz in case Pendejo45 wins the election and p1$$e$ Pendejo45 off for endorsing his Harris/Walz.
He would instantly lose his bid on the government contracts.

What a coward.

[ificandream]

123. I canceled mine yesterday.

I really like the Post and it was a tough decision. But the timing on this is just reprehensible on the Post's part. Had they done this last year or even six months ago, I probably wouldn't have canceled it. But I had to given what the circumstances are and the consequences. The big problem, which both the Post and the L.A. Times don't seem to realize, is that Trump will see these two events as boosts for him and trumpet about them. The papers should have thought this through more thoroughly. Too bad they didn't.

[HighFired49]

127. Bye Bye, WP

Cancelled today.

[Chrysanthemum]

128. Like so many other patriotic DU members

I also cancelled my subscription to the Washington Post. My money will not support Bezos, who is complicit in fascism.

[IzzaNuDay]

129. Count me in as an unsubscribed

Now looking for the DU post with email addresses to send my letter saying why.

[aggiesal]

131. I supplied a link to the WaPo comments section ...

I left a message similar to my #11 post in this story.