A Star Is Born
The Post looked down and out. Robert Allbritton made his move.
The Washington Post was evidently in crisis. Jeff Bezos, its owner, had spiked an editorial endorsing Kamala Harris for president, then announced plans to narrow the focus of the opinion section to defend “personal liberties and the free market.” The editorial page editor and several of its most prominent writers had resigned. An estimated 375,000 digital readers had canceled their subscriptions. The Post was trying to bring people back at discounted rates—and did manage to draw several hundred thousand subscribers—but there was an ominous feeling in the newsroom and beyond, as layoff rumors began to circulate. People concerned about what this all meant for the future of the organization, the capital’s journalistic anchor, found themselves wishing a buyer would swoop in.
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The Washington Post is shedding both staff and subscribers — but making friends in the White House — as its owner, Jeff Bezos, remakes its opinion pages and lops off major areas of coverage.