Washington Post Is Limping Into Trump’s Second Term

Subscription and ad-revenue shortfalls are taking a toll on the business, which lost around $100 million last year, and leaders are struggling to convince staff that they have a clear editorial vision and continuing commitment to hard-hitting journalism, according to more than a dozen people close to the newsroom. Rivals have poached many top Post journalists in recent weeks, and are in talks with others.

It is a critical moment for an institution that has prided itself on holding the powerful to account, from Watergate to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. The Post, like its rivals in news publishing, is contending with a decline in public trust of traditional media and competition from new-media formats such as podcasts and social media.

Owner Jeff Bezos envisions significant changes. One of his goals is to introduce viewpoints that resonate with a much larger, and more ideologically diverse, swath of America, according to people familiar with the matter. “Increasingly we talk only to a certain elite,” he wrote in an op-ed before the November election.

Post leadership has internally discussed a goal of reaching 200 million users, according to staffers, though some in the newsroom say it isn’t clear how that will be measured and whether the figure includes social media followers. The Post had 54 million digital visitors in November 2024, according to media-measurement firm Comscore, down from 114 million in November 2020.

To hit the Post’s ambitious audience target, executives have articulated a desire to use artificial-intelligence tools and news aggregation, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Many of the challenges fall on the shoulders of Matt Murray, who was named interim executive editor in June. On Thursday, Murray told colleagues that his appointment was no longer temporary, but the company wouldn’t be making a formal announcement on the matter, a Post spokeswoman said. Murray was formerly The Wall Street Journal’s editor in chief.

 

“Our industry is in the middle of a major transformation,” a Post spokeswoman said. “The Post is committed to innovating, creating and leading the way forward to reach all Americans with nonpartisan news and thought-provoking reported views.”

The Post distinguished itself with coverage of Trump’s first term under the banner “Democracy Dies in Darkness” and subscriptions surged, reaching around 3 million in January 2021. When interest in politics faded, the customer base contracted.

Losses accelerated when, shortly before the 2024 election, Bezos pulled a prewritten endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, and more than 250,000 people canceled their subscriptions within days.

Bezos defended the move in his op-ed, saying endorsements “create a perception of bias.” A person close to the company said many subscribers have since returned.

The Post’s loss in 2024 was roughly 30% greater than the loss a year earlier, according to people close to the company. Advertising revenue fell to $174 million from $190 million in 2023, missing a target, according to a person familiar with the Post’s finances.

The paper has been planning cost-cutting measures, and on Tuesday said it would eliminate nearly 100 business roles, or about 4% of its workforce. The newsroom wasn’t hit by these layoffs.

Even as interim editor, Murray made his presence felt. He has asked that certain writers—including some who write more-analytical pieces—move to the opinion side of the operation under opinion editor David Shipley. It is part of a continuing effort to more clearly divide and label opinion and news.

Murray is conducting a content review aimed at determining what resonates with current and prospective audiences, people familiar with the review said. It is expected to be completed in the first quarter, and will look at everything from the material in an article to the story’s length and what time of day it is published.

He also has instituted a policy that the Post shouldn’t cover itself. The Post didn’t write about the fact that Shipley killed a cartoon showing Bezos and other prominent figures bowing to Trump, prompting the cartoonist Ann Telnaes to resign. Shipley said it was too similar to other recent opinion pieces.

“I find the explanation for killing the cartoon unconvincing and the decision demoralizing,” Erik Wemple, the Washington Post’s media critic—who reports to the opinion section—wrote in a reader Q&A Monday.

Murray didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The changes inside the Post have left many staffers frustrated and confused about the future, the people close to the newsroom said. Journalists across areas from politics to national security, including Ashley Parker, Michael Scherer, Tyler Pager and Hannah Allam, have defected to publications such as the New York Times, the Atlantic and ProPublica. Josh Dawsey, a political investigations and enterprise reporter, is leaving for the Journal, where he worked before the Post.

National editor Philip Rucker, investigations editor Peter Wallsten and senior national investigations editor Rosalind Helderman are in the latest batch of newsroom leaders taking calls from other publications, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Some staffers describe friction between Chief Executive William Lewis and the newsroom, and he hasn’t addressed the newsroom since a contentious town hall in June. Lewis, who was previously CEO of the Journal’s parent company, Dow Jones, has expressed frustration to people within and outside the Post that the newsroom isn’t open to the urgent changes needed to put the paper on stronger financial footing.

A spokeswoman said Lewis has “tremendous respect and appreciation for his colleagues at the Washington Post.”

The mood for those still at the Post has been further dampened by a mandate to return to the office five days a week, effective later this year.

Some longtime editors and reporters were particularly saddened by the departure of Matea Gold, a well-regarded senior Post editor who had interviewed for the top editor job. She left to become the Washington editor for the New York Times.

In December, Post editors threw a last-minute gathering to recognize newsroom employees worthy of its internal awards for courage in journalism and embodying the Post’s principles.

Gold, who spoke at the event, shared a heartfelt thanks to the newsroom and highlighted its ambitious and effective work. “Go find stories that will change the way people see the world and understand one another,” she said in her speech, according to a longtime Post employee.

Suzanne Vranica contributed to this article.

Write to Alexandra Bruell at alexandra.bruell@wsj.com