The Washington Post has lost at least 250,000 subscribers since announcing last Friday that it would not endorse a candidate for president — roughly 10 percent of its digital following, the newspaper reported Wednesday.
The Post would not officially confirm that figure, saying it was a private company, but it was reported in a story in the newspaper that cited documents and two unnamed sources who were familiar with the figures. Another non-endorsement last week has caused thousands of Los Angeles Times readers to cancel subscriptions, although not nearly at the Post’s level.
One journalism historian, Jon Marshall at Northwestern University, said he had a hard time recalling a comparable response, although a boycott of the Arkansas Gazette when it supported the integration of Little Rock schools in 1957 cost that newspaper more than $20 million in today’s dollars.
The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos, said presidential endorsements create a perception of bias at the newspaper while having little real influence on how readers vote. His said his only regret was making the decision known when passions are heated so close to Election Day; the paper’s editorial staff had reportedly prepared an endorsement of Democrat Kamala Harris.
“A lot of people would have forgotten about the Harris endorsement slated to run in the newspaper,” the Post’s media critic, Erik Wemple, wrote. “Few will forget about the decision not to publish it.”
The Post’s executive editor, Matt Murray, told employees in a staff meeting that there were “several positive days” of new subscribers signing up, although he didn’t mention any numbers, the newspaper reported.
Some of the Post’s angry digital readers have also already paid for a year’s access, and will retain that until their subscriptions expire.
“After another month or so, the election will have ended, and there may be people who say that ‘I need the Post more than they need me’ and come back,” said Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at the Poynter Institute.
The Post also saw a big increase in subscribers during Donald Trump’s presidency from people attracted to the newspaper’s aggressive coverage, raising the possibility of a repeat if the man that the newspaper wasn’t prepared to endorse is returned to office.
In the meantime, Edmonds said, “it’s very bad.” After losing readers during the Biden administration, the Post had reportedly seen positive signs of growth — until this week.