The Decline of the Washington Post

Unless you work – or used to work, given the layoffs and closings of so many newspapers – in the declining profession of journalism, you may not be aware of the problems at the Washington Post.

Publisher Will Lewis resigned after owner Jeff Bezos announced a restructuring of the once-influential newspaper that closed the entire sports section. One third of the staff was fired, including at least 300 newsroom journalists. This has been part of a pattern in the industry for several years, especially as younger people now get their "news" from the internet or read and watch only those outlets that reinforce what they already believe. As a result, advertisers have also fled. It didn't help that more than 250,000 readers canceled their subscriptions after the Post declined to endorse Kamala Harris for president. See what I mean about reinforcement?

Before anything else, a newspaper, and every other media outlet, is a business. Consumers won't buy a product they don't like. One of the problems Bezos tried to address was the liberal tilt of the Post, not only in its editorials and columns, but also in how and what it covered or did not cover. Even the obituary page reflects a liberal worldview in the way it describes the deaths of known liberals and conservatives and the type of language the writers use to characterize their lives – positive for liberals and less so for conservatives.