The Washington Post. Photo: Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images
One of the leading US media outlets, The Washington Post, lost more than 200,000 digital subscribers in just four days after announcing its decision not to endorse any candidate in this year’s US presidential election. According to NPR, this is about 8% of the publication’s total subscribers of 2.5 million.
The owner of The Washington Post, Jeff Bezos, explained in his essay that this step is aimed at overcoming the “crisis of trust” in the media industry, as many readers believe the media to be biased. “Most people think the media is biased. Anyone who doesn’t see that is not paying attention to reality,” Bezos said.
He stressed that the decision was not related to the meeting with former President Donald Trump, which took place with the leaders of his company Blue Origin on the same day. At the same time, according to the information provided by the editorial staff, the decision to withdraw public support for the candidate was made after the preparation of an editorial in support of Vice President Kamala Harris.
The loss of a significant number of subscribers was an indicative reaction to the change in editorial policy, which, according to analysts, raises the question of how deeply the media are linked to their political views and whether publications should refuse to actively support candidates during election campaigns.
