Dem
47
GOP
53
The year 2025 was a bad one for The Washington Post. Most obviously, the decision by owner Jeff Bezos to re-invent the editorial policy, so as to please Donald Trump, led to an exodus of subscribers at a time when the paper's finances were already in trouble. The departure of a number of high-profile writers did not help, nor did the clumsy use of AI to try to generate content.
In the past week or so, it's become clear that 2026 is not likely to be better. Thanks to a smaller subscriber base, the paper's economic fundamentals have gotten even worse. Thus far, the impact has mostly been felt in the sports department. After spending over $80,000 on housing and transportation costs that could not be recouped, the paper's leadership announced it would not be sending any staffers to cover the Winter Olympics. When a business cuts off spending, even after a bunch of money has already been burned, that's a sign of serious cash flow problems. The blowback was so fierce that the Post switched course, and decided that it would send four staffers to Italy (down from original plans for a couple of dozen). The paper's leadership has also announced that it will no longer send reporters to road games for the Washington Capitals (NHL), the Washington Mystics (WNBA) or the Washington Wizards (NBA). The paper also refused to say whether it plans to have anyone at next weekend's Super Bowl, and there is credible scuttlebutt that the sports desk might be scrapped entirely.
In February, the pain will almost certainly spread. It has been widely reported that yet another round of layoffs is coming, and that 10% of the editorial staff might be out of work. Getting rid of the sports department won't be enough to reach that figure, and it is possible that the entire foreign desk will be shuttered as well. The Post's White House reporters, who would presumably be the very last to go, sent Bezos a letter yesterday, urging him to halt the layoffs. The staff has also entertained the notion of recruiting actor Tom Hanks to lobby Bezos. However, given that Amazon just laid off 16,000 people this week, it is unlikely that Bezos cares about 100 more people losing their jobs.
We clearly do not have the mindset that the people who compile multi-billion-dollar fortunes have. However, even with that caveat, we do not understand what on Earth Post owner Jeff Bezos is doing here. If he believes in what the Post is doing, he should step up and subsidize the paper. Yes, it's easy for us to spend money we don't have. However, a man who just spent $50 million on his wedding, and who indirectly spent $75 million on a puff-piece documentary about Melania Trump, and who has a net worth north of $250 billion, could write a check for $300 million every year and not even miss the money. Keep in mind that most billionaires, dating back to Andrew Carnegie and the first generation of Americans with 10-figure wealth, embrace the notion that they should give some/most/all of their money back to the society that made their success possible. And even if Bezos is not a believer in the Gospel of Wealth, the fact is that you can't take it with you. You might as well spend it on things that seem worthwhile to you.
On the other hand, if Bezos doesn't believe in the Post, or he fears damage to his other financial interests, then why doesn't he sell it or transfer ownership to some sort of non-profit trust? He paid $250 million for the paper in the first place—again, an amount that he could give away without missing it. And now that the paper is drowning, it's surely worth even less than that. Heck, it may be worth $0. Under new ownership or, even better, under no ownership at all, the Post could return to the model that made it successful. It could be that even that model can't work in the current media environment (although The New York Times seems to be doing OK). What is certain is that the Bezos model definitely isn't working.
If something is not done soon, the Post will enter a death spiral. How many promising reporters or editors will take a job there, if they know there's a good chance they won't last much longer than a Spın̈al Tap drummer? After all, it's the new people who get laid off first. Similarly, what advertiser will sign a long-term contract if there's a risk that their campaign will end prematurely, when the paper goes under?
If the Post does fail, it will be a great loss. Not only is it one of the few top-tier newspapers left, it's been the paper that does the best job of shining a light on politicians in the nation's capital. Donald Trump, of course, hates light even more than vampires or cockroaches do. So, he's used his goons at the Department of Justice to invade a reporter's home. And, as a result of that raid, the FBI has reportedly gained access to the newsroom's content management system, including its Slack channel. That puts the Feds in a position to monitor content, at least until someone figures out how to lock them out again.
Needless to say, a badly compromised Washington Post is music to Trump's ears. And a dead Washington Post is even better. Hopefully, the paper can be saved, even if the prognosis right now is very poor. (Z)