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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The Washington Post reported at least 250,000 subscription cancellations after it announced on October 25, 2024, that it would not endorse a candidate for president. That was a count of cancellations—not a verified net loss of active subscribers. The Post said a Harris endorsement had been drafted, and its reporting attributed the decision not to publish it to owner Jeff Bezos.
What the 250,000 figure measures
On October 29, 2024, the Post reported at least 250,000 cancellations following the no-endorsement announcement. The figure came from reporting first published by NPR and was reported by the Post as a count of cancellations, not a calculation of the change in active subscriptions. It did not subtract new subscribers or people who later re-subscribed. The Post’s report also said the company did not typically share subscription data publicly and that it was unclear how many cancellations were print subscriptions.
A November 1 Post opinion article characterized the cancellations as roughly 10 percent of an approximately 2.5 million subscriber base. That is a contemporaneous approximation, not a current subscriber count or a measure of the eventual net effect. The opinion article noted that the longer-term picture would emerge later.
How the decision unfolded
October 25: The Post announces a new presidential endorsement policy
Publisher William Lewis announced that the Post would not endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election or in future presidential races. The paper reported that a Harris endorsement draft had been written but not published, and attributed the decision to Bezos. Lewis described the policy as “a statement in support of our readers’ ability to make up their own minds.” The Post’s announcement coverage also quoted the Washington Post Guild saying the announcement made members concerned that “management interfered with the work of our members in Editorial.”
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October 28: Bezos explains his position
In a published defense, Bezos said endorsements can create a perception of bias and that the decision was intended to restore trust. He wrote, “Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election,” and said he regretted the timing: “That was inadequate planning, and not some intentional strategy.” He also denied a quid pro quo. These are Bezos’s stated reasons and denial, not independently established evidence of his motive. Bezos’s statement records his account.
October 29 and November 1: The cancellation count is reported and qualified
The Post reported the at-least-250,000 figure on October 29 and explained that cancellations did not capture new subscriptions or later returns. Some annual subscribers retained access until renewal; the report said that, at the time, only a low-thousands number of accounts had fully terminated, according to an unnamed person close to the situation. That temporary status detail does not establish the eventual number of lost subscribers. The November 1 opinion article discussed the limits of interpreting the figure.
What is known about the Post’s subscriber base
The approximately 2.5 million digital subscribers reported for October 2024 and the roughly 10 percent comparison describe the period around the controversy, not the paper’s subscriber base today. The Post also reported that digital subscriptions peaked at 3 million in January 2021. Its subscriber-base report supplies that historical context; it does not provide a later total.
What the cancellations did—and did not—show
- They showed a substantial response to the announcement. The Post reported at least 250,000 cancellations following the decision.
- They did not establish a net decline. The reported count did not account for new subscriptions or re-subscriptions, and the sources reviewed did not establish the eventual net subscriber effect.
- They did not establish a verified motive for Bezos. The Post’s reporting attributed the decision to him, while Bezos said he wanted to restore trust and denied a quid pro quo. The reporting documents the controversy and suspicions; it does not establish that he acted to gain business favor with a future administration.
How wide the policy applied
The change concerned presidential contests. The Post said it would continue to make endorsements in other races. The newspaper reported that three editorial-board members stepped down from the board while remaining at the paper, and that more than 20 opinion columnists dissented. The Post’s coverage of the internal response describes those developments.
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