The Washington Post Is in Full-Scale Collapse

Red State ^ | 01/05/2024 | Bonchie

[SeekAndFind]

Is The Washington Post in full-scale collapse? A recent look at the numbers provides a fairly convincing answer to that question. 

According to the report, not only is the Post losing $100 million a year, but it lost over half of its online engagement by the end of 2023. The signs were already there by mid-year, and the worst has come to pass. 

---

See: The Washington Post Is Facing a Financial Buzzsaw

---

“Of that audience, less than one in five read more than a single article per month, while less than one in 500 actually convert to a paying subscription.”— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) January 6, 2024

“The data—yes, it really is that bad—suggests that the Post is not only suffering from the absence of a coherent business plan, but it is also suffering from a profound product problem”— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) January 6, 2024

Having a multi-billionaire sugar daddy has helped mask some of the issues plaguing the Post, but the tide can only be held back so long. To lose over 50 percent of its online viewership is catastrophic for an outlet with such high overhead costs. Subscriber numbers have also nosedived throughout the Biden administration. 

That last fact is interesting because the trend was originally blamed on Donald Trump no longer being in the news. The former president has been firmly back in the headlines the last year, though, and the Post has continued its downward spiral. If Trump being charged with multiple felonies isn't enough to save the once-storied paper, it's hard to imagine what could. 

As to the reasons behind this precipitous fall, I think they are fairly obvious. Nothing the Post produces is worthwhile. Their columnists are boring parrots who all say the same thing, levying the same boring attacks they were levying nearly a decade ago. Even a died-in-the-wool liberal can only take so many Jennifer Rubin columns claiming the end is nigh for the nation because Republicans get to vote. 

Then there's Taylor Lorenz, who has done more to harm the Post's credibility in the few years she's worked there than any other "journalist" at the outlet. She's been caught committing multiple ethical violations dealing with her "stories," and the response from her employers has been non-existent. Of all the people who should have been given the boot long ago, Lorenz was one of them. 

Where does Jeff Bezos, who owns the Post, go from here? The path the news outlet is on is not sustainable. Continuing to dump money into a sinking ship is a bad investment, and because the Post's leaders are more beholden to their left-wing radicalism than market forces, there's no reason to think the ship can ever be saved. 

That's the problem with letting the inmates run the asylum. Like with Deadspin, far-left activists are more than happy to run a publication into the ground pursuing their political wants. The culture at the Post is so toxic and entitled at this point that it would take a top-down cleaning out of every level of the outlet's operation to make a dent. Is that going to happen? Of course, not, because the backlash from the radicals would be overwhelming. Bezos is stuck, and it wouldn't surprise me if he tries to cut his losses eventually.

[wita]

Post eight and nine, two in a row that have the situation nailed.

We’ll see if reality and history have anything more to say.

[Rlsau1]

“Bezos makes $12.56 billion a year. The Washington Post is the propaganda source for most of the other liars. Bezos is only losing 1% of his annual income on this paper. Its influence on a criminal regime that tosses money around by the Trillions is more than enough to justify what he is losing.”

Whatever he’s losing is being made up in other areas by the left, and probably with public money. Using someone else’s money is the answer to all the left’s financial needs.

[Fido969]

It’s not there to make money, it’s there to be a propaganda outfit.

[Fido969]

He can cut staff and overhead, and still crank out the drivel.

[FroggyTheGremlim]

What, Oh what will Jennifer Rubin do? Where will she go?

[Vaduz]

Propaganda isn’t selling like it used to people are wising up to it except the slow ones no help for them.

[sauropod]

Good.

[jmacusa]

Newspapers are fast becoming obsolete. People under 50 either just don't bother with them or even know what they are.

[cgbg]

See post 31.

A tax write-off that small is not even worth Bezo’s time.

[cgbg]

They used to be worthwhile for puppy training—but these days they are not thick enough to do the job.

;-)

[wild74]

Bezos probably writing it off as a tax loss

[joesbucks]

I know people live to glamour around the Post is just short of dead because it’s woke. So what about Salem Media that’s unwoke, God fearing and a Trump supporter? It once traded aver $25/share. Now it’s .32 cents.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/4051498-salem-media-group-slips-on-announcing-voluntary-delisting-from-nasdaq-global-market

[SamAdams76]

A bit of an aside but newspaper reading in general appears to have gone the way of eating Aunt Mabel's jello molds for dessert - the jello molds with bits of lettuce and carrots in them.

I remember taking the commuter trains into the city and virtually every worker bee had his/her head buried in a newspaper during the ride. At Grand Central in NYC, there were gargantuan trash bins along all the train platforms for the arriving commuters to dump their newspapers. On the commute home, many would pick up the "evening" edition for the ride home, sold mostly by aggressive yelling "newsboys" shouting variations of "extra, extra, read all about it."

Now all those bins are gone. People now have their faces buried in various devices from smartphones to tablets.

I don't even bother with newspapers online. Too many annoying popups and paywalls.

[MeganC]

Bezos can afford to lose $100m per year with his toy newspaper. He probably made that money back while I was writing this comment.

[Avalon Memories]

Fox News online is moving to a subscription model. Their articles are now hidden behind a need to enter your email address. If you do, you’ll get sucked into having to subscribe. I will never subscribe to any news outlet. Period.

[pangaea6]

It’s cia deep state propaganda, they won’t let it go under. Musk should buy it that would be great

[cgbg]

I think you know this—but on the off chance you do not—you can override any newspaper paywall with this link:

https://archive.vn/siMaL

Often there is an option for text only so you can get rid of any extraneous junk on the page.

[Newbomb Turk]

The "Legacy" New is on its way out.

People have figured out they ar being played and lied to by the media elites and they departing in droves.

Fox really screw up when they fired Tucker Carlson.

I encourage everyone to go watch his interview of Vivek Ramaswamy and what Vivek has to say about big Republican and also big Democrat donors and their attempt to pre-select Nikki Haley.

[TChad]

Washington’s “quaint little alternative newspaper” has become even more quaint over the years.

[jmacusa]

I agree. The Sunday New York Times used to be ideal for that.

Many years ago when I used to keep a dog that thing was invaluable. About five pounds of newspaper was perfect for doggie training.