The Washington Post’s web traffic has taken a nosedive since 2021, with its digital readership declining by nearly 90%.
The outlet, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had around 22.5 million daily active users in January 2021, according to Semafor. However, as of the middle of 2024, that number had fallen to just 2.5-3 million.
The media outlet has also seen an immense drop in revenue, which decreased from $190 million in 2023 to $174 million in 2024. On Tuesday, the Post began laying off approximately 4% of its workforce to improve its financial health, with the outlet’s publisher revealing in May that it had lost $77 million in the last year.
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After deciding not to endorse a presidential candidate, the newspaper lost over 200,000 subscribers in October alone. Bezos reportedly quashed the Harris endorsement.
Several Post staffers who supported Vice President Kamala Harris resigned following the decision, including editor-at-large Robert Kagan and journalists David E. Hoffman and Molly Roberts.
After three years in the role, Sally Buzbee, the Post’s top editor, stepped down in June. The Post did not provide a reason for Buzbee’s departure or include a statement from her, but her exit reportedly followed her objecting to Lewis’ plans for a reorganization.
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A wave of high-profile reporters, including Josh Dawsey and Tyler Pager, also left the Post following the November presidential election. CNN reported that veteran opinion columnist Jen Rubin also left the outlet to start a new media publication with President Joe Biden’s ethics czar, Norm Eisen.
According to Forbes, Jeff Bezos has a net worth of over $230 billion and purchased the Post from the Graham family for $250 million in 2013.
The Amazon founder was one of many tech moguls congratulating President-elect Donald Trump following his November victory, joining Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Bezos reportedly donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund in December.
The Post did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation