# The Washington Post: Democracy Dies With Us **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [October 25, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210 "2024-10-25T17:30:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/161 "2024-10-27T17:06:35Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I think the Michigan Muslims are sick of being taken for granted. They don’t see a ton of difference between the candidates on Palestine, and would like to be able to extract promises in the future. I can’t blame them for that, but if Trump should win do they think their lives would be easier under him than Harris? He’ll try and throw them out of the country, citizens or not. My nephew got woke this cycle then decided he couldn’t vote for Harris because of Gaza. With his living in DC it’s hardly as critical as Michigan but with Kennedy being the only alternative candidate offered on the ballot, he’ll likely not vote at all, at least for President. I chided him with, “Why should I bail? My end of the boat isn’t sinking.” ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/162 "2024-10-27T17:09:24Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > Hopefully, someone will leak the statistics on what percentage of _Post_ subscriptions were canceled this weekend. Spotted on Facebook this morning (an 11 hours ago post) from someone I find reliable: > word is that in the wake of Jeff Bezos single-handedly destroying one hundred and forty seven years’ worth of public trust the Washington Post has lost around 20% of its subscribers ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/163 "2024-10-27T17:12:28Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > Hopefully, someone will leak the statistics on what percentage of _Post_ subscriptions were canceled this weekend. The cynic in me has me convinced that JB has no problem with how large the cancellation percentage is. He genuinely won’t give a shit if the paper dies. In plain sight - no darkness. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/164 "2024-10-27T17:13:54Z")
Not having a WaPo subscription, I just now cancelled my Prime membership’s renewal, coming up next month. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/165 "2024-10-27T17:22:01Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > word is that in the wake of Jeff Bezos single-handedly destroying one hundred and forty seven years’ worth of public trust the Washington Post has lost around 20% of its subscribers Considering that > As of 2023, the Post has 135,980 print subscribers and 2.5 million digital subscribers, and as of yesterday morning they were reporting 2,000 cancelations, I’m skeptical, but hopeful. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/166 "2024-10-27T17:23:28Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I just now cancelled my Prime membership’s renewal, Now, _that’s_ what I would call an effective protest to Bezos’ actions requiring real sacrifice. You have my admiration and I wish I had the kind of commitment required to immediately follow suit. Maybe in a couple weeks. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/167 "2024-10-27T17:28:48Z")
What I read was about 2K in the first few hours after the announcement. There were over 31K comment on the article when I went to sleep last night, the vast majority negative. I imagine that even with performative statements, that’s many actual cancellations. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/168 "2024-10-27T17:29:11Z")
Amazon Prime has 184 million subscribers just in the US. I doubt anything meaningful is going to happen by canceling. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/169 "2024-10-27T17:29:57Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Not having a WaPo subscription, I just now cancelled my Prime membership’s renewal, coming up next month. I think you are right and this would be the better way to protest. > **[Don’t Cancel The Washington Post. Cancel Amazon Prime.](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/10/washington-post-bezos-amazon-prime-cancel/680421/)** > > The subscription money enriching Jeff Bezos could instead be spent on the journalism crucial to preserving democracy. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/170 "2024-10-27T17:30:40Z")
> [@susan](#): > > I imagine that even with performative statements, that’s many actual cancellations. I sure hope so. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/171 "2024-10-27T17:37:18Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Amazon Prime has 184 million subscribers just in the US. I doubt anything meaningful is going to happen by canceling. Using this logic, your vote next Tuesday isn’t meaningful either. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/172 "2024-10-27T17:41:17Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I think you are right and this would be the better way to protest. It’s the Washington Post that fucked up, though. Their editors could have run an endorsement anyway and dared Bezos to fire them. Well, now they’re gonna be out of a job anyway, but at least the other way they would have bene able to look at themselves in the mirror and not seen a chickenshit. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/173 "2024-10-27T17:45:20Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > > [@needscoffee](#): > > > > Amazon Prime has 184 million subscribers just in the US. I doubt anything meaningful is going to happen by canceling. > > Using this logic, your vote next Tuesday isn’t meaningful either. And the Electoral College means that is true (that your vote is meaningless), unless you live in a swing state, and especially if you live in Pennsylvania. If you’re in a solid red state or a solid blue state, a vote for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, respectively, isn’t going to change the Electoral College count. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/174 "2024-10-27T17:49:38Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Their editors could have run an endorsement anyway and dared Bezos to fire them. Interesting idea. It seems a thing they would have thought about. I wonder why they didn’t do that? I can only guess that doing so would mean the absolute end of their careers in journalism. No one else would hire them. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/175 "2024-10-27T18:02:15Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > If you’re in a solid red state or a solid blue state, a vote for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, respectively, isn’t going to change the Electoral College count. Your downballot votes, however, may make a hell of a large difference. To the House and/or the Senate; and/or to your state legislatures, who control the voting systems; and/or to your elected judges, who influence the court cases; and/or to your local politicians, who may be influencing voting abilities and/or children’s education and/or health issues. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > > [@RickJay](#): > > > > Their editors could have run an endorsement anyway and dared Bezos to fire them. > > Interesting idea. It seems a thing they would have thought about. I wonder why they didn’t do that? I can only guess that doing so would mean the absolute end of their careers in journalism. No one else would hire them. The ones who signed today’s letter either weren’t worried about that or think that it’s worth it. I wonder whether there were differences in the editorial board as to what to do about it? I also wonder who physically controls what actually goes into print and/or what actually shows up on the website. I don’t know how that works in modern journalism. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/176 "2024-10-27T18:04:37Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I wonder why they didn’t do that? I can only guess that doing so would mean the absolute end of their careers in journalism. Not everyone can afford to lose their job. And there are very few decent jobs in journalism nowadays, even if someone _would_ hire them. . ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/177 "2024-10-27T18:05:18Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > The ones who signed today’s letter either weren’t worried about that or think that it’s worth it. I think there is a world of difference between willfully disobeying an order from the owner to not publish something but then publishing it anyway and instead posting a letter that you disagree with the owner. No one will hire an editor who just does what they want and ignores the owner’s wishes. Would you hire that person? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/178 "2024-10-27T18:12:38Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > No one will hire an editor who just does what they want and ignores the owner’s wishes. Would you hire that person? If what they published was responsible journalism, sure. Owning a paper and telling journalists what they aren’t allowed to print isn’t the same thing as owning a grocery store and setting the opening and closing hours. But it’s a valid point that almost nobody can afford to hire journalists now. A massive problem, but a valid point. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/179 "2024-10-27T18:29:58Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Owning a paper and telling journalists what they aren’t allowed to print isn’t the same thing as owning a grocery store and setting the opening and closing hours. Yes, this. If WaPo staff want to be known as journalists then they have to behave as journalists. And that means declining to support censorship. And censorship is what Bezos is demanding. Give in to his demands = not being a journalist anymore. **You’re just someone taking a paycheck for being a propagandist for a billionaire.** . . > [@puzzlegal](#): > > I think the Michigan Muslims are sick of being taken for granted. If true this would be a complete misunderstanding of what voting is about. _Voting is not about extorting priority treatment for YOUR concerns._ Politicians have to please multiple groups with multiple concerns. You can’t expect to become the Number One Priority via blackmail. Instead, you use your vote as a tool to get as close as possible to what you want. Harris is going to get them closer to what they want than will Trump. (Too bad there’s not a reputable journalistic source available to explain this.) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210/180 "2024-10-27T18:33:42Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Yes, this. If WaPa staff want to be known as journalists then they have to behave as journalists. > > And that means declining to support censorship. And censorship is what Bezos is demanding. Huh? Let’s imagine you own a media source that is explicitly dedicated to supporting women’s rights. Right to vote, equal pay, abortion and so on. Your journalists decide naw…they are against pro-choice and equal rights and so on. You, as the owner, need to let them express their journalistic freedom as they see fit? Nonsense. You’d fire the lot of them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-washington-post-democracy-dies-with-us/1009210.md?page=10)