Washington Post loses digital subscriptions over endorsement

The Washington Post reportedly has lost more than 200,000 digital subscriptions, and three members of its editorial board have stepped down on the heels of its decision not to endorse a candidate in the presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Citing two sources at the Post with knowledge of internal matters, NPR‘s David Folkenflik reported Monday that the newspaper had lost about 8% of its paid circulation of 2.5 million subscribers, which includes print editions, since Friday’s announcement of the non-endorsement.

Molly Roberts, David Hoffman and Mili Mitra resigned from the paper’s 10-member editorial board due to the controversial decision about the endorsement, but they are remaining on the Post’s staff, according to public statements and the paper.

That is the same number of editorial board members who resigned from the Los Angeles Times‘ board in protest of that newspaper’s decision not to endorse a presidential candidate.

A Post spokesperson declined to comment on either the subscription losses or editorial board resignations when contacted Monday by CNBC.

Also Monday, USA Today said it would not endorse a presidential candidate this year. The Gannett-owned newspaper, one of the largest papers by circulation in the United States, in 2020 broke its longstanding tradition of not endorsing presidential candidates when it urged readers to pick President Joe Biden over Trump.

But the Post for decades had endorsed candidates for president.

Will Lewis, the Post’s publisher and CEO, has said that it was his decision to break that tradition at the paper and not endorse a presidential candidate this year — or in any future election.

But a Post story Friday, citing four people who were briefed on the decision, reported that the Post’s owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, made the decision to no longer issue presidential endorsements.

The newspaper has denied that claim.

The Post’s editorial page had planned to endorse Harris, the Democratic nominee, according to the newspaper’s own reporting.

Announcing her resignation from the editorial board in a letter to Post Opinions Editor David Shipley, Roberts wrote, “I stand against silence in the face of dictatorship. Here, there, everywhere.”

She also posted a statement online. “To be very clear, the decision not to endorse this election was not the editorial board’s,” Roberts wrote. “It was (you can read the reporting) Jeff Bezos’s.”

“I’m resigning from The Post editorial board because the imperative to endorse Kamala Harris over Donald Trump is about as morally clear as it gets. Worse, our silence is exactly what Donald Trump wants: for the media, for us, to keep quiet.”

Lewis said in a statement Saturday that “reporting around the role of The Washington Post owner and the decision not to publish a presidential endorsement has been inaccurate.”

“He was not sent, did not read and did not opine on any draft,” Lewis said. “As Publisher, I do not believe in presidential endorsements. We are an independent newspaper and should support our readers’ ability to make up their own minds.”

On Monday, USA Today spokeswoman Lark-Marie Anton, in an emailed statement, said, “While USA TODAY will not endorse for president, local editors at publications across the USA TODAY Network have the discretion to endorse at a state or local level.”

“Many have decided not to endorse individual candidates, but rather, endorse key local and state issues on the ballot that impact the community,” Anton said. “Why are we doing this? Because we believe America’s future is decided locally — one race at a time. And with more than 200 publications across the nation, our public service is to provide readers with the facts that matter and the trusted information they need to make informed decisions.”

USA Today’s decision was previously reported by The Daily Beast.