Washington Post Has Lost 500,000 Subscribers Since Biden Took Office
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The Washington Post has lost 500,000 subscribers since Biden took office in Jan. 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
As compared to the 3 million subscribers the publication had in Jan. 2021, the Post currently has over 2.5 million subscribers, sources with knowledge of the company’s finances told The Wall Street Journal. Despite being on track to generate around $600 million in revenue in 2022, the Post is not expecting to make a profit this year.
While the Post let go of 10 staffers from its print Sunday magazine news in a cost-cutting move, the greater media industry is also facing layoffs and restructuring as CNN and Gannett laid off hundreds of employees across their news operations, while BuzzFeed slashed 12% of its workforce within the past week.
The Post did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Amid the profitless year, the Post might be considering a sale or spin off of the publication’s software Arc XP, a publishing tool turned software that is used by the Golden State Warriors and energy company BP PLC. According to the Wall Street Journal, when executives approached owner Jeff Bezos about a potential sale or spin-off, the Amazon founder gave his stamp of approval.
Since acquiring the company in 2013, Bezos has encouraged the publication to embrace innovation and experimentation — with Arc XP being its biggest tech project that staffs around 250 employees around the world.
Shailesh Prakash, who was the Post’s chief information officer before announcing his resignation in early September, previously advocated for greater investment in Arc XP, saying that it could recruit engineers better a stand alone company, offering them equity and the ability to work remotely.
