The Post's Win-Back Plan

In a closed-doors meeting last week, The Washington Post's leaders were briefed about efforts to win back subscribers who canceled in the wake of Endorsement-Gate.

Oliver Darcy
November 25, 2024

The Washington Post building. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Last Thursday, inside a conference room at The Washington Post's home on K Street, top newsroom leaders gathered for a closed-door briefing on the newspaper's efforts to win back subscribers who fled the publication in protest of its decision to block the editorial board’s planned endorsement of Kamala Harris.

It had been less than a month since the Jeff Bezos-owned and Will Lewis-led newspaper informed its readers that it would not be making an endorsement in the high-stakes 2024 race, a widely panned decision that triggered unprecedented backlash against the outlet. In the wake of the announcement, more than 250,000 of The Post's customers canceled their subscriptions to the "Democracy Dies in Darkness" publication, further imperiling the newspaper which had already been on less-than-ideal financial footing prior to the mass exodus.

It was against that backdrop that Karl Wells, chief growth officer at The Post, and Suzi Watford, chief strategy officer, met last week with newsroom heads, including editorial boss Matt Murray. Sitting at the end of a conference room table, Wells and Watford presented leadership with…

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The Information Wars

Elon Musk and Jim VandeHei. (Status illustration/Getty Images)

VandeHei Triggers Musk: Jim VandeHei has riled up Elon Musk. The right-wing X owner raged at the Axios co-founder on Monday for having criticized him while accepting an award last week at the National Press Club. In his speech, which “Morning Joe” played an excerpt of on Monday, VandeHei said it was “bullshit” for Musk to tell his legions of fans that they “are the media now.” VandeHei noted that it takes a lot more to be a journalist than simply possessing a blue checkmark and making snarky comments online.

Musk did not appreciate the message. Throughout the day, the billionaire assailed VandeHei and promoted others who also blasted him. Musk also continued to smear the news media, saying journalists "lie about everything." Musk, with no sense of irony, even posted, "The legacy media is a click-maximizing machine, not a truth-maximizing machine!" Reached for comment Monday night, VandeHei told me…

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The Post's Win-Back Plan

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