• The Washington Post said Friday it would not support a presidential candidate.
• The newspaper has since lost 8% of paid subscriptions, NPR reported. Some staff resigned.
• Reports suggest that Post owner Jeff Bezos has decided not to support a candidate.

Washington Post The decision not to support a candidate in the presidential election may have cost hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

More than 200,000 people have canceled their Post subscriptions since Friday, NPR’s David Folkenflik says reported Monday, quoting two knowledgeable sources.

It’s not uncommon for people to cancel their news subscriptions over controversial content or decisions, but such protests are rarely significant or long-lasting.

In the Post’s case, the reported figures represent about 8% of its paid circulation of 2.5 million print and digital subscribers.

This would be a major setback for Will Lewis, the Post’s chairman and CEO, in the near future. trumpeted that the newspaper grew digital subscribers for the first time since 2021. A Washington Post spokesman declined to comment.

Like many other legacy media, the Post has struggled to make up for lost print revenue and generate subscriber revenue as readers move online.

Lewis, approaching his first year in office in question In May, it was revealed that the Post lost $77 million last year and had been losing digital readers for years. “To be frank: We are in a hole and have been for a while,” he told employees at the time.

The newsroom is also currently grappling with some staff protests and resignations. David Hoffman, who received the Pulitzer Prize last week, has left the editorial board, according to a resignation note shared on X. Editorial writer Molly Roberts sent word to X over the weekend that she was resigning. Columnist Michele Norris and editor-at-large Robert Kagan have left the paper. Nineteen columnists signed a contract colon protests the decision.

The decision raised fears that news organizations were censoring themselves out of fear of former President Donald Trump making the public appeal. revenge against enemies. The Los Angeles Times has endorsed statewide candidates but declined to endorse a presidential candidate this year, prompting three staff members to take action. resignations.

New York Times reported On Sunday, it was reported that Jeff Bezos, who has owned the Washington Post since 2013, expressed reservations about publishing an endorsement in late September.

The Times also reported that the Post’s opinion editor, David Shipley, told staff on Monday that he “tried hard to dissuade Mr. Bezos” and that Shipley “did not explain what reasoning, if any, Mr. Bezos gave for his decision.”

Representatives for Bezos did not respond to requests for comment.

The Post previously shared a statement from Lewis saying that reports about Bezos’ role in the situation were inaccurate: “He was not sent, he did not read, and he did not comment on any draft. As the publisher, I do not believe in the president’s endorsements. We are an independent newspaper, and our readers make their own decisions.” We need to support their ability to give.”