HEY JEFF, HOW’S THAT REFORM OF THE POST COMING ALONG? Washington Post pays to boost stories critical of Trump as subscribers flee.
The Washington Post is paying to remind readers that it is still pretty tough on Donald Trump.
Like many news organizations, the Post pays a small amount each month to show articles in feeds on Facebook and other social media platforms. But on Monday, the paper aggressively ramped up its paid advertising campaign, boosting dozens of articles related to the election.
While the articles about Vice President Kamala Harris were relatively neutral in tone and focused on her innovative digital strategy, her policy proposals, and her chances of winning next week, the articles that the Post paid to highlight about Trump told a different story.
The paper boosted multiple critical articles, including about Trump’s campaign rhetoric, his misstatements, his allies’ attempts to “energize him as he struggles to adapt to Harris,” how his campaign damaged Springfield, Ohio, his fixation on the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter, how crowds leave his rallies early, and his questioning of the results of the 2020 election, among other stories.
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Prior to Monday, the paper had run just around a dozen ads all month on Facebook, which largely featured simple Post branding without any mention of Trump. Monday’s paid Facebook push was a clear acknowledgment that the paper hopes to win back some of the anti-Trump subscribers that may have canceled. It’s also a demonstration of just how much the Post is reliant on liberal readers opposed to Trump for revenue. Instead of using the opportunity to boost its tech or culture coverage, the paper leaned more into what it knows converts readers into subscribers: Its critical reporting and op-eds about the former president.
And yet, it’s not enough, as John Nolte writes: Washington Post, L.A. Times Continue to Suffer Massive Subscription Cancellations. “With only leftists for paying customers and no real advertising revenue to fall back on, the Post had to serve those customers. Well, leftists don’t want journalism or truth. They want comfort and affirmation. And when you deny them that comfort and affirmation, they go into a snit and cancel their subscriptions. When you cater only to the left, you live under the axe of, That’s a nice business you got there. Be a shame if anything happened to it.”