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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  • zoostation@lemmy.world
    22·
    2 months 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.