Even before 250,000 digital readers unsubscribed from the Washington Post in protest, the paper was on track to lose at least as much money as it lost last year: $77 million. A deputy managing editor shared the figure in a recent meeting with reporters and editors, per multiple sources. The editor did not say what the added impact of the non-endorsement exodus would be, according to those present. “Mind-blowing,” as one staffer put it. “The level of anger is through the roof, and fear is also through the roof. There’s huge concern that Bezos is going to pull the plug.”
That doesn’t seem likely, at least in the near term. Instead, owner Jeff Bezos — and his already controversial publisher pick, Will Lewis — seems determined to fix the paper, whether the current staff likes it or not. Meanwhile, there has yet to be an official acknowledgment of the 250,000 canceled subscriptions that came in response to Bezos spiking a planned Kamala Harris endorsement shortly before the election, a figure first reported by NPR and later confirmed by the Post’s own media reporter. “The top stories that do well convert 200 readers to subscribers,” a staffer noted. “You’re doing your best work, hoping you convert 200 subscribers. And we lost 250,000 through naïveté and poor decision-making.” (A Post spokesperson declined to comment on subscription numbers and personnel matters, including hiring.)
Lewis, a longtime lieutenant of Rupert Murdoch’s, came in hot. He seemingly sidelined Sally Buzbee, the executive editor he inherited, by trying to put her in charge of a newly invented “third newsroom” (focused on service journalism and social media, among other innovations) while planning on bringing in a friend from the U.K., Robert........