According to NPR, the Washington Post has lost 200,000 subscribers since its owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezo, decided to not endorse a presidential candidate this year, a move many (including yours truly) viewed as him proactively bowing to Donald Trump should the former president win the election. I find the 200K number hard to believe, but if it’s even remotely close to that figure, it’s a devastating loss. … But I think the cancel movement is off base. It’s only punishing the grunt reporters and editors at the Post, not Bezos, a billionaire who can easily afford the loss of $20 million or so in canceled subscriptions. … But here’s an idea from The Atlantic: Cancel Bezos/Prime. It’s preferable to cancelling a Post subscription. But what I’d really like to see is Bezos sell the Post. He’s done enough damage to the paper. His credibility is shot, not the credibility of the great journalists there. Bezos needs to go.
Update – From the Guardian: “Washington Post writers say don’t dump subscriptions over non-endorsement.”
Update II – 10.30.24 – NPR is now reporting that 250,000 subscriptions have been canceled.
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One response to “Cancel Bezos, not the Post”
[…] Update – 1.4.25 — Dan Kennedy has more on the resignation — and the uproar it has caused. … I did get an email from an old colleague about my post, saying I was wrong to call it journalistic stupidity to take on the boss, etc. My response: every newspaper has its internal third-rails that newsroom employees touch at their own peril, usually issues involving the owner. Ann Telnaes knew this — and then quit after getting a predictable response from the higher-ups. Not exactly smart. … Btw: I do like Telnaes’s draft cartoon, as shown at Dan’s site. I’m certainly no fan of Jeff Bezos, that’s for sure. […]
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