(RepublicanNews.org) – The newspaper once known for its acclaimed coverage of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate is set to be $100 million underwater by the end of 2023. The left-leaning Jeff Bezos-owned enterprise was first purchased by the Amazon founder in 2013 for $250 million.
Newspaper revenue is based on the sale of advertisements and subscriptions. One report suggested that the Post has lost about 17% of its online subscriber base since the fireworks of the 2020 election. The paper that once had three million digital subscribers at its peak now has half a million fewer paying customers.
According to one outlet, an initial decline in the paper’s performance was attributed to a demand from Bezos that the number of editorial staff be cut. It was said the owner thought he could take the paper to a global audience by letting administrators go and hiring more reporters in their place.
Despite the former Amazon CEO’s bankroll and despite several changes at the executive level, the paper was unable to turn a profit. After a reported plea in January from the Post’s senior leadership that staff morale was low, Bezos is said to have made an appearance at a newsroom meeting where he reportedly conveyed that he would take a more active role in the direction of the paper.
In the last year, the Post has lost a number of well-known reporters, including Pulitzer Prize winners Robert Samuels, Eli Saslow, and Stephanie McCrummen. In that same period, four top executives exited the organization, three of whom joined The New York Times.
A source from inside the Post said it was “pretty clear” that the Amazon founder “is worried.”
After President Donald Trump was elected to the White House in 2016, the Post chose to place the phrase “Democracy Dies in Darkness” beneath its masthead. It was the first time the organization had used a slogan since the paper was founded in 1877.
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