After Trump was elected president in 2016, one of the first things I did was sign up for digital subscriptions with the New York Times and Washington Post. I wanted to support high quality independent journalism that would serve as a factual counterweight to Trump’s incessant lies.
The Times has continued to do that. Under the pathetic so-called “leadership” of owner Jeff Bezos, the Amazon billionaire, the Post hasn’t.
In late 2024 I cancelled my subscription to the Post after the newspaper withdrew an endorsement of Kamala Harris after the editorial supporting her had been written and was ready to be published. Really cowardly.
Later, I subscribed again after Trump defeated Harris. I figured, wrongly, it turned out, that the Post would continue to hold the Trump administration accountable. A warning sign was when the Post announced in June 2025 that Bezos had ordered that its opinion section would be championing “personal liberties and free markets.”
Now the warning signs about the end of high quality independent journalism at the Post have become a freaking three-alarm fire. Not surprisingly, today the Post didn’t have a story about a third of its staff having been laid off. When I searched the Post, what came up was an AP story by David Bauder, “Washington Post cuts a third of its staff in a blow to a legendary news brand.”
The Washington Post laid off one-third of its staff Wednesday, eliminating its sports section, several foreign bureaus and its books coverage in a widespread purge that represented a brutal blow to journalism and one of its most legendary brands.
…Rumors of layoffs had circulated for weeks, ever since word leaked that sports reporters who had expected to travel to Italy for the Winter Olympics would not be going. But when official word came down, the size and scale of the cuts were shocking, affecting virtually every department in the newsroom.
“It’s just devastating news for anyone who cares about journalism in America and, in fact, the world,” said Margaret Sullivan, a Columbia University journalism professor and former media columnist at the Post and The New York Times. “The Washington Post has been so important in so many ways, in news coverage, sports and cultural coverage.”
…The newspaper has been bleeding subscribers in part due to decisions made by Bezos, including pulling back from an endorsement of Kamala Harris, a Democrat, during the 2024 presidential election against Donald Trump, a Republican, and directing a more conservative turn on liberal opinion pages.
…The Post’s troubles stand in contrast to its longtime competitor The New York Times, which has been thriving in recent years, in large part due to investments in ancillary products such as games and its Wirecutter product recommendations. The Times has doubled its staff over the past decade.
Bizarrely, the Post tag line at the top of the story still says, Democracy dies in darkness. Well, I’m not interested in supporting the Post in its self-inflicted descent into deep twilight, which is why I cancelled my digital subscription as of the mid-February next monthly payment date.
I have a feeling that this cancellation will stick. Here’s what a former editor of the Post, Martin Baron, said in a Facebook post today.
This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations. The Washington Post’s ambitions will be sharply diminished, its talented and brave staff will be further depleted, and the public will be denied the ground-level, fact-based reporting in our communities and around the world that is needed more than ever.
Of course, there were acute business problems that had to be addressed. No one can deny that. This is a period of head-spinning change in media consumption. The response to that is necessarily difficult and severely disruptive. Radical innovation is required.
The Post’s challenges, however, were made infinitely worse by ill-conceived decisions that came from the very top —from a gutless order to kill a presidential endorsement 11 days before the 2024 election to a remake of the editorial page that now stands out only for its moral infirmity. Loyal readers, livid as they saw owner Jeff Bezos betraying the values he was supposed to uphold, fled The Post. In truth, they were driven away, by the hundreds of thousands.
The owner, in a note to readers, wrote that he aimed to boost trust in The Post. The effect was something else entirely: Subscribers lost trust in his stewardship and, notwithstanding the newsroom’s stellar journalism, The Post overall. Similarly, many leading journalists at The Post lost confidence in Bezos, and jumped to other news organizations. They also, in effect, were driven away. Bezos’s sickening efforts to curry favor with President Trump have left an especially ugly stain of their own. This is a case study in near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction.
Many superior journalists will remain at The Post, delivering important work. I expect they will continue to hold power to account, as they have done spectacularly well for decades. They deserve the support of all who believe in quality journalism.
I remain personally grateful for Jeff Bezos’s steadfast support and confidence during my eight-plus years as The Post’s executive editor. During that time, he came under brutal pressure from Trump. And yet he spoke forcefully and eloquently of a free press and The Post’s mission, demonstrating his commitment in concrete terms. He often declared that The Post’s success would be among the proudest achievements of his life. I wish I detected the same spirit today. There is no sign of it.
Right on, Mr. Baron. Jeff Bezos wants to use his ownership of the Post to kiss Trump’s fat ass, in hopes that the Authoritarian-in-Chief will look kindly upon Amazon and the space-related business Bezos owns.
I just used the $16.99 a month that I’ll be saving by cancelling my Post digital subscription to sign up for The Athletic and Wirecutter offerings on the New York Times. After a sweet year of The Athletic at just $1 a month, I’ll be paying $14 a month for The Athletic and Wirecutter a year from now.
I’m sure lots of other Post subscribers will be cancelling also. I love Amazon and will continue to happily use this terrific shopping service. Too bad that Bezos cared so little about making the Washington Post into an equally high quality newspaper. I feel terrible about all the journalists who got layoff notices today. They deserved better.
Discover more from Salem Political Snark
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.