More than 200.000 people have reportedly unsubscribed from “Washington Post” after a prominent American daily announced that it would not support either Donald Trump ni Kamal Harris in the race for the president of the USA, according to certain American media. The capital's newspapers did not confirm it, but neither did they deny it.
The loss of subscriptions on such a scale is a major blow to the newspaper, which is already facing financial difficulties. Last year, The Washington Post had more than 2,5 million subscribers, most of them digital, making it third in terms of circulation, behind The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
The editorial team reportedly lined up an endorsement for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris before announcing Friday that they would instead let readers make up their own minds. The timing of the publication, less than two weeks before the election, prompted critics to question whether the paper's owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos worried about possible revenge from Republican Donald Trump in the event of his victory.
Former Washington Post editor Marty Barron called the decision not to declare "democracy-sacrificing cowardice."
Jeff Bezos also spoke out
Bezos, on the other hand, wrote in the author's text for his paper that the goal of the decision was to preserve the paper's reputation at a time when trust in the media is declining, not business interests.
"Recommendations for which presidential candidate readers should vote for create a perception of bias, a perception of dependence." Stopping that practice is a principled decision, and a correct one at that. I want to make it clear that we did not ask anyone for anything in return. Not a single campaign, not a single candidate was consulted or informed about this decision at any level. The decision was made entirely internally," Bezos wrote.
He pointed out that he does not regret breaking the tradition of more than three decades in one of the leading American newspapers.
"To win this battle, we need to develop new skills." Some changes will be a return to the past, and some will be innovations. Of course, criticism will be part of any new initiative. Such is the world. None of this will be easy, but it will be worth it," the billionaire wrote.
Bookies favor Trump
The Washington Post's decision not to endorse any of the presidential candidates came at the very end of the election race. Eight days before the presidential elections in America, Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris and Republican Party candidate Donald Trump are almost tied in the polls, but bookmakers they give the former president a significantly higher chance of victory.
Trump took the lead in bookmakers at the beginning of October and since then his advantage has been growing almost continuously. Thus, in BetOnline the ratio between Trump and Harris is now 63 - 36 percent, in Betfair 58 - 37, in Betsson 61-40, in Bovada 64 - 36, in Bwin 61 - 41, in Points Bet 61 - 40, in Polymarket 63 - 32 and in Smarkets 58 - 38 percent, reports Index.
Betting markets and polling data are two of the most popular methods for predicting the outcome of an American election. Both have advantages and disadvantages, and understanding them can provide a clearer picture of their reliability, explains the American electronic stock exchange Nasdaq.
Sources: AP/Fox/FoNet