Over 200,000 subscribers have canceled their subscriptions to the Washington Post after the media establishment blocked its endorsement of United States Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Kamala Harris.
Inside sources told the National Public Radio (NPR) that the number of withdrawals continued to rise by Monday.
The development also saw a series of resignations from columnists as two of the newspaper’s columnists quit, and three of the nine members of the editorial board resigned their positions.
According to the sources, the figure represents about eight percent of the paper’s paid circulation of roughly 2.5 million subscribers, which includes print.
Billionaire businessman and owner of Washington Post, Jeff Bezos said in a statement addressing the issue, that editorial endorsements create a perception of bias and do nothing to tip the scales of an election.
“Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one,” Bezos wrote.
Bezos also clarified that the decision was not influenced by any political play.
“I would also like to be clear that no quid pro quo of any kind is at work here,” he said.
“Neither campaign nor candidate was consulted or informed at any level or in any way about this decision. It was made entirely internally.”
Bezos also wrote that he wished the decision to end presidential endorsements had been made earlier, “in a moment further from the election and the emotions around it”.
“That was inadequate planning, and not some intentional strategy,” he added.
The Post’s publisher, Will Lewis, in a separate statement said the decision was a return to a tradition the paper had years ago of not endorsing candidates.
Lewis said it reflected the paper’s faith in “our readers’ ability to make up their own minds”.
Martin Baron, who was editor when Bezos bought the paper, said the decision was laced with “cowardice”.
“Disturbing spinelessness at an institution famed for courage,” Baron said.
The Washington Post’s decision came just days after the Los Angeles Times also said it would not endorse a presidential candidate, a move the paper acknowledges has cost them thousands of subscribers.
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