I don’t know why people are so proud of cancelling their Post subscriptions. The non-endorsement debacle was an outrage, but the ultimate result of cancelling subscriptions was that more good journalists like Glenn lost their job faster.
Because as shitty as it is, it's not our responsibility to fund Bezos’ news vision? This was a hostage situation totally of his own making and I had zero desire to contribute whatsoever. Do good journalists lose their job because of this? Of course. But I have also since subscribed to other news sources that aren't doing this chicanery. This is the way.
There was nothing else to be done. The only way to send a message of disapproval was to cancel, and it was only after repeated offenses that culminated in killing the endorsement. It’s not an ideal solution, and it’s too bad for the journalists, but if WaPo is embracing the fascists it’s better for it to die.
And I don't understand why people are so quick to defend fascist organizations and the people who support them.
I couldn't give a squirt of urine for people getting fired working for an organization that is propping up a fascist regime- if these journalists have any ethics or spine at all they would leave of their own accord. As for those who remain? I couldn't care less what happens to their careers - I'm not going to subsidize fascism, period.
No, the result was that WaPo lost money and good journalists left for publications that seek to serve their readers, not gas light them. WaPo isn't the only paper on town.🤷🏿♂️
The other day I realised that my first news go to each morning now is Substack, not The Post and that this had been going on for a while. It was a revelation, but even then I’ve still not quite been willing to unsubscribe (nostalgia?). This article has now made that decision one I can no longer avoid. So, albeit a sad move, I thank you and look forward to subscribing to your Substack instead :)
You should check your local library. With a library card, I have access to the NYT, WSJ, and USA Today. Your library may give you access to the WP. Check with the library so that if in the event of articles you want to read pop up, you will have access. There is also Way Back Machine and Internet Archive.
Dang— I had forgotten about going to the library— a place I used to frequent 20 years ago— not only for the available resources— but also because it offered me ( what I considered ) quiet sacred space 🕊️.
Because occasionally there are thought provoking or persuasive articles worth reading. You do not have to give your hard earned cash to the parent company for a subscription. But you can read their product when you choose to, on occasion. I wish I could choose to not have my tax dollars through the library support NYT, WSJ, et al. But I cannot cherry pick those tax dollar spendings. So, I point out how you can benefit without directly contributing. Don’t bother yourself with checking out the library offerings if you are not interested.
Another resource is Apple News which gives you access to 300 newspapers and magazines including the WSJ, WP, The Atlantic, New Yorker and metro newspapers in most American cities for 15.00 a month
Yeah, I also find The Guardian a credible news source, partly coz it’s funded by a trust (plus subscriptions) and not some obscenely rich individual/corporation. The Onion also keeps me grounded :D
Investigative reporting is being cancelled all over the country. So why don’t you write about root causes of the evisceration of the news business — monopoly capitalism and its hold on elected officials and news media. Bone up by reading Sludge (readsludge.com). It’s the grift, stupid.
Titanic is the right metaphor, indeed, with Lewis directing the String Trio while it plays ‘Nearer My God to Thee.’ As someone who not only remembers the Ombudsman days well, there’s yet another reason subscribers are leaving the Post in droves — its deliberate sabotage of its own comments system.
A few months ago, a largely self-regulated, robust, fairly navigable and largely uncensored comments system got thrown out and replaced by an AI nanny bot system that eliminated likes, replacing them with some wholly made-up scheme involving checkboxes for “thoughtful” “provocative” “clarifying” and the silliest of all —- “new to me.” Then the bots got busy striking ‘bad’ comments with a pink message: “your comment did not match our guidelines.” It wasn’t about obscenities or inducements to antisocial behavior, or racism, anti-semitism. It was about simply reacting to our outrageous new political realities. No comments critical of RFK, Jr. are permitted, try calling Laura Loomer a “looney” and watch what happens.
William Lewis doesn’t give a flying flamingo about his own readership. Long-time resders find this comment system REPULSIVE. People are weighing in whether paying Jeff Bezos to slap our hands like errant 4-year-olds makes the slightest sense. For so many of us, it’s just one more nail in a very sad coffin.
But unfair to the Carpathia, whose captain turned the ship around and headed to the Titanic as fast the engines could go. They picked up the survivors.
While I don’t like the new comments system, I regularly post comments highly critical of Trump, and there’s never been an issue. E.g., this comment in response to Trump’s firing the head of BLS: “Trump has with one swift move destroyed the government's credibility. Who will trust anything the BLS says from now on?”
Who trusts it today? They are always wrong…very very wrong. Like, not even close. Biden’s numbers were adjusted down every month as well. What institution gets to operate that way?
MAGA/Trump isn’t destroying anything, these legacy media brands are dying because they’ve lost the trust of most Americans…through their lies, both outright and through omission. It was a good grift for a while, but alas, the comeuppance has arrived. It’s a good thing.
Wow. It’s great to see a ‘fact-checker’ unleashed, going feral. Bezos bought the WaPo as a vanity project. “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was a great slogan. It only cost $250 million.
May it be on your tombstone Jeff.
I cancelled my WaPo subscription before the last election. No refunds on a paid subscription sez Jeff, so I had to wait till now before I could not read it anymore.
It will not be missed. I don’t care how cheap the new offer is Jeff.
Sell the WaPo to Rupert Murdoch for $1. That’s the best offer you are going to get.
Totally agree. The WaPo is now offering me an introductory subscription of 50 cents a week. If they reduce the price 1000%, like DJT is promising for subscription drugs, I might consider.
Trut is, I have not figured out how much Bezos will have to pay me before I ever listen to anything he has to say ever again.
Welcome Glenn! When I saw your farewell note on the Post I wondered how many days it would take before you would show up here!
As a native of the Baltimore Washington area I kept reading the Post even after I moved away. It was really my favorite paper. That was in the early days. Now as you so painfully described, they've turned out the lights and democracy is dying in darkness. We have lots of good writers here, but that is not the same as having reporters in the field and budgets for investigative journalism. Giving up on fact checking is definitely a telltale sign that the Post is no longer committed to the truth.
I was one of the people who canceled my subscription. I won't be renewing. Good luck finding Fox viewers who actually want to read!
I also canceled my subscription even though, as a struggling artist, I have great sympathy for struggling writers. That Will Lewis, the then-new publisher of The Post, asked you: “What should The Post do to appeal more to Fox News viewers?” erases all regret that I had about unsubscribing. Substack, so far, is truly freedom of the press.
Thank you for your efforts to save The Fact Checker - and, by extension - the Post itself.
Since Bezos appears to have lost interest in it I wish someone would convince him to donate it to an owner willing to invest the human capital to turn it around, and accept thanks for opening his wallet to keep it afloat during the period he owned it.
Hearst comes to mind. They are privately owned, not beholden to shareholders, and in San Francisco they have demonstrated they know how to operate a major daily & a successful web operation.
Thank you for writing this. Often, after struggling through one of George Will’s fact-fighting essays, I wondered whatever happened to the Ombudsman. Now I know.
Thanks for this Glenn. It reaffirms my decision to unsubscribe after WaPo pulled Kamala Harris’ endorsement.
I don’t know what Bezos is doing, other than sailing around with his new bride. He seems to have bought into the “billionaire, high roller, with a trophy wife” lifestyle.
He should sell to Kara Swisher. She’s got the backing and is ready to go.
I recently received a survey request from the Post as a former subscriber. I wrote that they need to denounce fascism and Trump. They asked me if a better price would win me back. NOPE. Those hacks are contributing to the downfall of democracy and they want to know if saving two bucks is enough for me to buy their paper. Puuuhhleeeze!!!
I just filled out the same questionnaire in the same fashion. It’s sad what they have done to themselves. My heart breaks for the journalists and staff. It could have been avoided.
I'm a traditional conservative, I've voted republican my entire life... until Trump. I subscribed to the Post because of your Fact Checker, the variety of opinions and the solid journalism. I can't find real news at Fox or almost any right leaning publication. What am I going to do when CBS and the Post and all the others crumble into maga slop? I understand why it was time for you to leave, but I'm really sad that it had to be like this.
I was also one of many who looked forward to your columns (no matter who or what was fact-checked) and felt you were an honest broker and reliable. I too dropped the WaPo subscription when Bezos issued his non-endorsement of a presidential candidate. Substacks are wonderful, but adding one on top of another gets too expensive.
Perhaps you and several former news writers would consider consolidating multiple writers - even with diverse viewpoints - into one substack, much as Meidas and Bulwark have done. I suspect you'd have a wider reach, and even become more popular that the rags that are now servile to authoritarians. Just a thought.
I continue to believe if all Substack authors would accept smaller subscription amounts, say $2/mo., they’d get enough free Stack readers to go ahead and pay for the additional content to make up for the lost revenue. I have easily a half-dozen Stacks I read on a regular basis but only on the free level. At $4+ per month, that’s $24/mo. for me. No way I can do that. $12/mo. I probably could, though, and suddenly they’re getting money from how many more people like us who they’re getting nothing from now?
We will also very much miss the cat videos (which we still received in the newsletter even after we canceled our subscriptions following the Harris non-endorsement). But welcome to Substack!
Hi Glenn.
I was one of those 300,000 people that canceled their subscription.
Best wishes in your post-Post career.
I don’t know why people are so proud of cancelling their Post subscriptions. The non-endorsement debacle was an outrage, but the ultimate result of cancelling subscriptions was that more good journalists like Glenn lost their job faster.
They would have lost their jobs regardless.
Because as shitty as it is, it's not our responsibility to fund Bezos’ news vision? This was a hostage situation totally of his own making and I had zero desire to contribute whatsoever. Do good journalists lose their job because of this? Of course. But I have also since subscribed to other news sources that aren't doing this chicanery. This is the way.
There was nothing else to be done. The only way to send a message of disapproval was to cancel, and it was only after repeated offenses that culminated in killing the endorsement. It’s not an ideal solution, and it’s too bad for the journalists, but if WaPo is embracing the fascists it’s better for it to die.
And I don't understand why people are so quick to defend fascist organizations and the people who support them.
I couldn't give a squirt of urine for people getting fired working for an organization that is propping up a fascist regime- if these journalists have any ethics or spine at all they would leave of their own accord. As for those who remain? I couldn't care less what happens to their careers - I'm not going to subsidize fascism, period.
Are you Glenn Kessler??
No, the result was that WaPo lost money and good journalists left for publications that seek to serve their readers, not gas light them. WaPo isn't the only paper on town.🤷🏿♂️
I'm glad I could clear that up for you.
Ditto
Maybe you are Glenn Kessler. It is a religion w you people.
The other day I realised that my first news go to each morning now is Substack, not The Post and that this had been going on for a while. It was a revelation, but even then I’ve still not quite been willing to unsubscribe (nostalgia?). This article has now made that decision one I can no longer avoid. So, albeit a sad move, I thank you and look forward to subscribing to your Substack instead :)
You should check your local library. With a library card, I have access to the NYT, WSJ, and USA Today. Your library may give you access to the WP. Check with the library so that if in the event of articles you want to read pop up, you will have access. There is also Way Back Machine and Internet Archive.
Dang— I had forgotten about going to the library— a place I used to frequent 20 years ago— not only for the available resources— but also because it offered me ( what I considered ) quiet sacred space 🕊️.
Marcia, Do you know if they offer it online or do you go in and read the actual paper. Thank you!
Curious. Why would I want to read a paper I just ended my subscription to for ethical reasons
I don't give my money to people that fabricate news.
Because occasionally there are thought provoking or persuasive articles worth reading. You do not have to give your hard earned cash to the parent company for a subscription. But you can read their product when you choose to, on occasion. I wish I could choose to not have my tax dollars through the library support NYT, WSJ, et al. But I cannot cherry pick those tax dollar spendings. So, I point out how you can benefit without directly contributing. Don’t bother yourself with checking out the library offerings if you are not interested.
That’s a great idea, thank you!
The NYT is even more openly biased than the Washington Post.
Another resource is Apple News which gives you access to 300 newspapers and magazines including the WSJ, WP, The Atlantic, New Yorker and metro newspapers in most American cities for 15.00 a month
I cancelled NY Times and WaPo subscriptions at the in late 2024. Now I start with The Guardian, then Reuters and the AP. And various substacks.
Yeah, I also find The Guardian a credible news source, partly coz it’s funded by a trust (plus subscriptions) and not some obscenely rich individual/corporation. The Onion also keeps me grounded :D
I do also.
Investigative reporting is being cancelled all over the country. So why don’t you write about root causes of the evisceration of the news business — monopoly capitalism and its hold on elected officials and news media. Bone up by reading Sludge (readsludge.com). It’s the grift, stupid.
If you cancel, the Post will make a desperation offer, $4.99 or close for a year.
Hah! Correct—they offered $6. Best $6 I’ve ever _not_ spent :D
Titanic is the right metaphor, indeed, with Lewis directing the String Trio while it plays ‘Nearer My God to Thee.’ As someone who not only remembers the Ombudsman days well, there’s yet another reason subscribers are leaving the Post in droves — its deliberate sabotage of its own comments system.
A few months ago, a largely self-regulated, robust, fairly navigable and largely uncensored comments system got thrown out and replaced by an AI nanny bot system that eliminated likes, replacing them with some wholly made-up scheme involving checkboxes for “thoughtful” “provocative” “clarifying” and the silliest of all —- “new to me.” Then the bots got busy striking ‘bad’ comments with a pink message: “your comment did not match our guidelines.” It wasn’t about obscenities or inducements to antisocial behavior, or racism, anti-semitism. It was about simply reacting to our outrageous new political realities. No comments critical of RFK, Jr. are permitted, try calling Laura Loomer a “looney” and watch what happens.
William Lewis doesn’t give a flying flamingo about his own readership. Long-time resders find this comment system REPULSIVE. People are weighing in whether paying Jeff Bezos to slap our hands like errant 4-year-olds makes the slightest sense. For so many of us, it’s just one more nail in a very sad coffin.
I'm going to defend the musicians on the Titanic because people have gotten into the habit of using them as an example of futility.
They kept playing to keep the passengers calm. They kept playing rather than take their assigned seats in the lifeboats, knowing there weren't enough.
Their playing wasn't going to save the ship but was instead their one last act of courage. They did their jobs like men and they did not falter.
And it was an act neither Will Lewis nor Jeff Bezos will ever be capable of.
But unfair to the Carpathia, whose captain turned the ship around and headed to the Titanic as fast the engines could go. They picked up the survivors.
I am sorry to hear about the comments section.
I thought that was something the WaPo always did much better than the NYT.
Not any more.
I hate that A1 crap
It definitely ruins a good steak. 🥩
I think you meant AI crap....☺️
You are spot on about the comments - no Pinocchios! The changes to the comments section are so irritating. So very irritating.
While I don’t like the new comments system, I regularly post comments highly critical of Trump, and there’s never been an issue. E.g., this comment in response to Trump’s firing the head of BLS: “Trump has with one swift move destroyed the government's credibility. Who will trust anything the BLS says from now on?”
Who trusts it today? They are always wrong…very very wrong. Like, not even close. Biden’s numbers were adjusted down every month as well. What institution gets to operate that way?
WaPo dies in darkness, I guess. MAGA/Trumpism is destroying so much of what we've collectively built it feels like a forest fire
MAGA/Trump isn’t destroying anything, these legacy media brands are dying because they’ve lost the trust of most Americans…through their lies, both outright and through omission. It was a good grift for a while, but alas, the comeuppance has arrived. It’s a good thing.
Wow. It’s great to see a ‘fact-checker’ unleashed, going feral. Bezos bought the WaPo as a vanity project. “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was a great slogan. It only cost $250 million.
May it be on your tombstone Jeff.
I cancelled my WaPo subscription before the last election. No refunds on a paid subscription sez Jeff, so I had to wait till now before I could not read it anymore.
It will not be missed. I don’t care how cheap the new offer is Jeff.
Sell the WaPo to Rupert Murdoch for $1. That’s the best offer you are going to get.
I’ll be timing out next month. Renewed shortly before the endorsement debacle. Watching the decline has been sad.
Totally agree. The WaPo is now offering me an introductory subscription of 50 cents a week. If they reduce the price 1000%, like DJT is promising for subscription drugs, I might consider.
Trut is, I have not figured out how much Bezos will have to pay me before I ever listen to anything he has to say ever again.
My offer is $20 for a year. Not worth it
Welcome Glenn! When I saw your farewell note on the Post I wondered how many days it would take before you would show up here!
As a native of the Baltimore Washington area I kept reading the Post even after I moved away. It was really my favorite paper. That was in the early days. Now as you so painfully described, they've turned out the lights and democracy is dying in darkness. We have lots of good writers here, but that is not the same as having reporters in the field and budgets for investigative journalism. Giving up on fact checking is definitely a telltale sign that the Post is no longer committed to the truth.
I was one of the people who canceled my subscription. I won't be renewing. Good luck finding Fox viewers who actually want to read!
I also canceled my subscription even though, as a struggling artist, I have great sympathy for struggling writers. That Will Lewis, the then-new publisher of The Post, asked you: “What should The Post do to appeal more to Fox News viewers?” erases all regret that I had about unsubscribing. Substack, so far, is truly freedom of the press.
Thank you for your efforts to save The Fact Checker - and, by extension - the Post itself.
Since Bezos appears to have lost interest in it I wish someone would convince him to donate it to an owner willing to invest the human capital to turn it around, and accept thanks for opening his wallet to keep it afloat during the period he owned it.
Hearst comes to mind. They are privately owned, not beholden to shareholders, and in San Francisco they have demonstrated they know how to operate a major daily & a successful web operation.
In any case, welcome aboard Substack!
I think that WAPO is in a death spiral.
Thank you for writing this. Often, after struggling through one of George Will’s fact-fighting essays, I wondered whatever happened to the Ombudsman. Now I know.
Trying to get Fox News watchers to subscribe to the Washington Post is like trying to get chain smokers to subscribe to Men's Health.
Thanks for this Glenn. It reaffirms my decision to unsubscribe after WaPo pulled Kamala Harris’ endorsement.
I don’t know what Bezos is doing, other than sailing around with his new bride. He seems to have bought into the “billionaire, high roller, with a trophy wife” lifestyle.
He should sell to Kara Swisher. She’s got the backing and is ready to go.
I recently received a survey request from the Post as a former subscriber. I wrote that they need to denounce fascism and Trump. They asked me if a better price would win me back. NOPE. Those hacks are contributing to the downfall of democracy and they want to know if saving two bucks is enough for me to buy their paper. Puuuhhleeeze!!!
I just filled out the same questionnaire in the same fashion. It’s sad what they have done to themselves. My heart breaks for the journalists and staff. It could have been avoided.
When Bezos hired Lewis from Brit trash tabloid newspapers, I knew the end was near for WaPo. I look forward to reading you on Substack.
I'm a traditional conservative, I've voted republican my entire life... until Trump. I subscribed to the Post because of your Fact Checker, the variety of opinions and the solid journalism. I can't find real news at Fox or almost any right leaning publication. What am I going to do when CBS and the Post and all the others crumble into maga slop? I understand why it was time for you to leave, but I'm really sad that it had to be like this.
I was also one of many who looked forward to your columns (no matter who or what was fact-checked) and felt you were an honest broker and reliable. I too dropped the WaPo subscription when Bezos issued his non-endorsement of a presidential candidate. Substacks are wonderful, but adding one on top of another gets too expensive.
Perhaps you and several former news writers would consider consolidating multiple writers - even with diverse viewpoints - into one substack, much as Meidas and Bulwark have done. I suspect you'd have a wider reach, and even become more popular that the rags that are now servile to authoritarians. Just a thought.
I agree. I absolutely can’t afford to pay for all the Substacks I subscribe to. It’s a real dilemma.
I continue to believe if all Substack authors would accept smaller subscription amounts, say $2/mo., they’d get enough free Stack readers to go ahead and pay for the additional content to make up for the lost revenue. I have easily a half-dozen Stacks I read on a regular basis but only on the free level. At $4+ per month, that’s $24/mo. for me. No way I can do that. $12/mo. I probably could, though, and suddenly they’re getting money from how many more people like us who they’re getting nothing from now?
I loved reading your column for years. Thank you for explaining how you came to leave. It makes sense. Best wishes on your future journey.
We will also very much miss the cat videos (which we still received in the newsletter even after we canceled our subscriptions following the Harris non-endorsement). But welcome to Substack!