Newspaper non-endorsements at Washington Post, LA Times fit a trend, but their readers aren't happy

The number of newspapers endorsing a campaigner for president has dwindled pinch nan industry's financial troubles nan past 2 decades, successful portion because owners logic that it makes nary consciousness to alienate immoderate subscribers by taking a clear guidelines successful a politically polarizing time.

Yet successful nan past week, The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times person angered readers for precisely nan other reason: by choosing not to prime a favored candidate.

The fallout from some decisions continued Monday, pinch Post proprietor Jeff Bezos taking nan different measurement of publically defending nan move successful nan columns of his ain paper. Three members of nan Post's editorial committee resigned their positions and immoderate journalists pleaded pinch readers to not definitive their disapproval by canceling subscriptions. Many thousands person already done so.

Bezos, successful a note to readers, said it was a opinionated guidelines to ditch endorsements. People fundamentally don't attraction and spot it arsenic a motion of bias, he said. His comments appeared hours aft NPR reported that much than 200,000 group had canceled their Washington Post subscriptions.

If NPR's study is true, that would beryllium a startling rustle to an outlet that lost money and shed staff contempt having much than 2.5 cardinal subscribers past year. A Post spokeswoman would not remark connected nan report.

The Times has acknowledged losing thousands of subscribers owed to its ain decision.

Both newspapers had reportedly prepared editorials supporting Democrat Kamala Harris. Instead, astatine nan behest of Bezos and Patrick Soon-Shiong astatine nan Times, they decided not to endorse. Post patient Will Lewis called it “a connection successful support of our readers' expertise to dress up their ain minds.”

By announcing their decisions wrong 2 weeks of Election Day, however, nan newspapers near themselves susceptible to disapproval that their publishers were trying not to anger Republican Donald Trump if voters returned him to power. “It looked for illustration they were not making a opinionated decision,” said John Woolley, co-director of nan American Presidency Project astatine nan University of California-Santa Barbara.

Retired Post editor Martin Baron, on societal media, said nan determination showed “disturbing spinelessness astatine an institution famed for courage” and that Trump would spot it arsenic a further invitation to intimidate Bezos.

Back successful nan 1800s, newspapers were sharply partisan successful some their news pages and editorials. Even erstwhile a inclination toward unbiased news reports took clasp successful nan 1900s, editorial pages remained opinionated and nan 2 functions were kept separate.

As precocious arsenic 2008, 92 of nan nation's 100 largest newspapers endorsed either Democrat Barack Obama aliases Republican John McCain for president. But by 2020, only 54 made a prime betwixt Trump and Joe Biden, according to nan presidency project. Figuring location were moreover less this year, Woolley said they aren't moreover readying to count.

Studies recovered readers paid endorsements small heed and, successful a integer world, galore didn't understand nan favoritism betwixt consecutive news stories and advocacy-driven editorials. In galore cases, concatenation ownership took nan determination retired of nan hands of section editors. At a clip nan news business is struggling, they didn't want to springiness immoderate readers an excuse to leave.

“They really don't want to rattle aliases piss disconnected nan group who are not going to for illustration their endorsement,” said Rick Edmonds, media business expert astatine nan Poynter Institute, a publicity deliberation tank. “The solution is conscionable not to do them.”

That hasn't seemed to alert astatine newspapers successful 2 ample metropolitan areas pinch wide populations. The Post, nether Baron's activity during nan Trump administration, saw its circulation spike pinch fierce governmental sum that often angered nan erstwhile president.

Besides Baron, nan determination was denounced by Watergate era reporting legends Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Columnists Robert Kagan and Michele Norris said they were quitting nan newspaper successful protest. Three of nan 9 members of nan Post's editorial committee said they were leaving that role.

Out West, a Los Angeles Times editorial writer, Karin Klein, wrote successful nan Hollywood Reporter that she was quitting nan newspaper. Klein said that while Soon-Shiong had nan correct to enforce his will connected editorial policy, by making nan non-endorsement truthful precocious successful nan run he was efficaciously expressing nan other of nan neutrality he claimed to seek.

Indeed, timing was nan 1 regret Bezos expressed. “I wish we had made nan alteration earlier than we did, successful a infinitesimal further from nan predetermination and nan emotions astir it,” he wrote. "That was inadequate planning, and not immoderate intentional strategy.”

In an article astir nan continuing fallout connected nan Post's website Monday, much than 2,000 group near comments, galore of them saying they were leaving. Even erstwhile GOP congresswoman Liz Cheney said she was canceling.

“From what I've seen successful caller days, nan insubstantial is proceeding its subscribers very clearly,” Post media professional Erik Wemple said during an online chat Monday.

The protests person near immoderate journalists alarmed, worried that they and their colleagues would only beryllium wounded successful nan end. The national representing Los Angeles Times workers issued a connection past week that “before you deed that ‘cancel’ button,” admit that subscriptions thief underwrite nan salaries of hundreds of journalists.

“The much cancellations location are, nan much jobs will beryllium lost, and nan little bully publicity location will be,” Post columnist Dana Milbank wrote.

It would beryllium better, 1 commenter connected nan newspaper's website said connected Monday, to boycott Amazon — founded by Bezos — than nan Washington Post.

Milbank said he was angered by nan decision, too. He helped shape a protestation missive that immoderate of nan paper's columnists signed. But he noted that, isolated from for nan endorsement decision, he's seen nary grounds of Bezos interfering successful nan Post's editorial operations.

“For nan past 9 years, I've been labeling Trump a racist and a fascist, adding much grounds each week — and not erstwhile person I been stifled,” he wrote. “I've ne'er moreover met nor said to Bezos.”

The proprietor said arsenic overmuch successful his column. “I situation you to find 1 lawsuit successful those 11 years wherever I person prevailed upon anyone astatine nan Post successful favour of my ain interests,” he wrote. “It hasn’t happened.”

Some newspapers are bucking nan inclination of non-endorsements. The Oregonian, for example, reversed its determination not to endorse aft staying neutral successful 2012 and 2016. “We heard nan community's disappointment complete our non-endorsements large and clear,” editor Therese Bottomly wrote successful consequence to a mobility by Poynter's Edmonds.

In Cleveland, Plain Dealer Editor Chris Quinn polled his editorial committee astir whether to make a statesmanlike endorsement. “We don't delude ourselves astir our statesmanlike endorsement impacting voters,” Quinn wrote. “If we are not going to effect voters, why people thing that will anger half our audience?”

He formed nan deciding vote. The Plain Dealer endorsed Harris. Quinn had raised nan mobility via matter to immoderate of his readers. They felt a non-endorsement would beryllium a betrayal, he wrote — an enactment of cowardice.

“That was capable for me,” Quinn wrote. “Our work is to nan readers.”

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David Bauder writes astir media for nan AP. Follow him astatine http://x.com/dbauder.