5 ms·
Right. If this decision had been made and announced two years ago, no one cares. But according to published reports, the Editorial Board actually wrote up an en
by mandevil 2y ago
Right. If this decision had been made and announced two years ago, no one cares. But according to published reports, the Editorial Board actually wrote up an endorsement and then the owner decided to spike it at the last minute- that's a big huge deal! This whole thing is just really poorly handled on Bezos part.
If the reports are true and 8% of their paid subscribers have canceled since Friday (1), Bezos really screwed up quite badly here. And you have the Editorial Page Editor David Shipley throwing Bezos directly under the bus in that same report (2) so he had to come out and offer this ham-handed justification, but it is just a sign of a dumb decision.
I just can't believe he decided that lying to a bunch of reporters was a good idea.
1: https://www.npr.org/2024/10/28/nx-s1-5168416/washington-post-bezos-endorsement-president-cancellations-resignations https://www.npr.org/2024/10/28/nx-s1-5168416/washington-post... reports 200,000 cancellations since Friday, in an environment where the managing editor was touting 4,000 subscriber increases as a sign of progress.
2: "As recently as last week, according to a person present, Shipley said he sought to talk Bezos out of his decision. Shipley added, 'I failed.'" Ibid.
- llamaimperative 2y agoHow about this report to spice things up: Blue Origin executives meeting up with Trump the day the endorsement cancellation was announced? https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4954591-trump-meets-blue-origin-leaders-bezos/ https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4954591-trump-meets-bl...
- delichon 2y agoMr. Bezos has told others involved with The Post that he is interested in expanding The Post’s audience among conservatives, according to a person familiar with the matter. He has appointed Mr. Lewis — a chief executive who previously worked at the Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal — and has informed Mr. Lewis that he wants more conservative writers on the opinion section, the person said. -- https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/25/business/media/washington-post-presidential-endorsement.html He is making a serious play to capture an audience from the other half of the country. There is no way to do that without losing a painful share of his current reach.
- mandevil 2y agoThe false story of the frog in the pot applies here: if you want to make a change like that it has to be slow and steady, at an imperceptible pace. Doing something big and obvious destroys your pivot. You've lost trust with your existing customer base with out actually getting anything from your new, intended customer base. Again, announce this two years ago and it's a nothing burger and you could be working on that stated process (speaking for myself I don't think it likely to work, but it's at least a plan). Doing it now, in this way- after the editorial was already written- it's a big deal.
- delichon 2y ago> You've lost trust with your existing customer base with out actually getting anything from your new, intended customer base. You may not be aware of the new profound respect Bezos is getting from Musk and friends on X. Deep testaments to Bezos' character are suddenly flying freely around. Those devotions are invisible to most people who aren't on the right. But they make an impression on the audience that Bezos says he is after.
- mandevil 2y agoThat may be true for Bezos himself- but do you think that respect and affirmation will trickle down to the Washington Post and net them new subscribers? I'm extremely skeptical. This is not the first time someone has tried this pivot, e.g. the Post's old stablemate Newsweek, and it's not an easy thing to do.