Caving to Authoritarianism : WaPo Doesn't Endorse

The lost subs mean lower circulation as well, which impacts ad revenue.
So they are gonna get hit hard.

 

Am I wrong to think that any express or tacit understanding they may have reached now during the campaign would not be legally binding in any way when it comes to government contracts under the next administration? Is Bezos just assuming Trump is going to be honest, keep his word, and that he's not going to demand another favor next? It all seems a bit odd to me.

 

Just checked the billing and i was paying $128.40/yr. It indicates i get “full access” whatever that may mean.

 

My guess is he thinks Trump absolutely will try to undo contracts and Kamala will play more ethically. But honestly who knows. Maybe Trump has old Epstein photos.

 

agree - good point. Also 3 editorial members quit.

I thought about cancelling but it seems a bit of cutting off your nose to spite your face (or one of those). We need investigative journalism and like you said, Bezo is like - ok. I subscribe to WaPo, nyt, & wsj. All good, nyt has most info and top level writing. I also had The Economist for a bit but too many - tmi.


“Announcing her resignation from the editorial board in a letter to Post Opinions Editor David Shipley, Roberts wrote, "I stand against silence in the face of dictatorship. Here, there, everywhere….the imperative to endorse Kamala Harris over Donald Trump is about as morally clear as it gets. Worse, our silence is exactly what Donald Trump wants: for the media, for us, to keep quiet."

Washington Post loses a reported 200K digital subscriptions, 3 editorial board members over endorsement veto

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/10/28/jeff-bezos-washington-post-trust/
Comments section...lots of pissed off libs.

 

Think the timing of this falls on Bezos. If he wanted to do this he should've made the decision months ago at minimum. I agree with him that endorsing candidates makes newspapers seem partisan. The public doesn't trust the media and sitting by and doing the status quo won't fix the issues of trust. I think most people would want the truth reported, not someone's biased opinion. I don't have a lot of faith in Bezos making the WP be more down the middle, but I like that he's trying at least.

Americans' Trust in Media Remains at Trend Low

 

For me, the only thing fishy is the timing of it, and I don't know what to make of it. If Trump influenced Bezos, then they have both revealed low character, Trump for the umpteenth time. Otherwise, I have no problems with the major news outlets declining to endorse presidential candidates, nor do I have a problem with them endorsing as long as they are consistent.

I doubt very seriously Bezos is worried about Amazon. It's a brilliant business model and here to stay.

 

Seems to be going awesome.

 

up to 250k now

WaPo staffer unsure paper can recover as Bezos-owned outlet sheds 250,000 subscribers over endorsement fiasco

 

The Elon Effect

 

Not everyone’s integrity is for sale.

 

It’s true he’s effectively been subsidizing the paper.

But if his goal was to make it a self-sustaining business he just pushed it farther away by costing $10’s of millions in lost annual revenues. That’s a lot of employee paychecks up in flames.

His mistake is putting his thumb on this decision so close to the election. If he wanted to make his stand appear righteous for some sort of “media neutrality” (as ludicrous as that seems with Trump as candidate), it should have been pre-announced months ago. There would have been far less of a visceral pushback. Instead, squashing an endorsement in this manner gives off a very different vibe (that he was influenced or acting with cowardess).

 

yeah seems like the appropriate time to announce such a “principled stand” would be immediately AFTER an election going forward.

 

LOL, when you beat congress to the bottom, you've done a fantastic job.

 

ETTD. Everything trump touches dies. I must admit though screwing up the life of the world’s richest man will be a challenge even for trump.