"Can't Support Harris" Bezos 'Kills'... 200,000 Paid Subscribers Left

More than 200,000 Paid Members Leave
Bezos Personally Writes Op-Ed to Explain

The Washington Post (WP), a U.S. daily newspaper owned by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, reportedly lost over 200,000 paid subscribers in just one day. This accounts for 8% of its total subscriber base, and the revenue impact is expected to be significant.

On the 28th (local time), the U.S. public broadcaster National Public Radio (NPR) cited statements from two WP employees, claiming that by noon that day, 200,000 digital paid subscribers had canceled their subscriptions. Before this exodus, WP's total subscriber count was 2.5 million, meaning about 8% of paid subscription revenue disappeared. The cancellations reportedly continued even after noon.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

WP did not disclose the reason for the subscriber loss, but NPR speculated that it occurred after the media owner, founder Bezos, blocked support for U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. Marcus Brauchli, a former editor of WP, also described the number as "enormous." He criticized Bezos's interference in the newsroom, pointing out, "The problem is that people don't know why such a decision was made."

Earlier, on the 25th, WP announced that it would not endorse any candidate in the upcoming presidential election. This decision broke a 36-year tradition. WP explained, "The editorial page editor wrote an editorial draft supporting Democratic presidential candidate Harris, but owner Bezos decided not to publish it."

There were reportedly strong internal objections to the owner's intervention. Robert Kagan, WP's executive editor, reportedly resigned in protest of the decision. Additionally, three of the top ten most viewed articles on the media's online edition were statements of protest from employees.

The Washington Post online edition as of 8 a.m. on the 29th [Image source=Captured from WP homepage]

Amid growing backlash, founder Bezos personally contributed a piece to WP that day, explaining his reasons for intervening in the newsroom's decision on presidential candidate endorsements.

He stated, "The hard truth is that Americans no longer trust newspapers," adding, "Most people believe the media is biased. It's easy to blame others for our declining credibility (and influence), but that doesn't actually help. To increase trust, we must control all factors within our control."

He continued, "Endorsing a presidential candidate plays no role in breaking the balance of the election. Instead, endorsements create bias," emphasizing, "It instills the perception among readers that the media is biased, and ending this is a principled and correct decision."

Meanwhile, founder Bezos acquired WP in August 2013 for $250 million (approximately 345.6 billion KRW). Bezos's net worth is estimated at $205 billion (about 283 trillion KRW), ranking him among the top three billionaires worldwide.

WP was established and first published in 1877 in Washington D.C., the capital of the United States. It is commonly considered one of the three major comprehensive newspapers in the U.S., alongside The New York Times (NYT) and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). It is also known for producing journalists who have made a significant mark on American media, such as Bob Woodward, who covered the Watergate scandal.