Washington Post publisher William Lewis said Friday that the newspaper would not endorse a presidential candidate in this year’s election or any future election, a position that sparked outrage among some of its current and former employees, as well as subscribers.

“The Washington Post will not endorse a presidential candidate in this election. Not even in future presidential elections. We are returning to our roots by not supporting presidential candidates,” Lewis wrote in a note on the newspaper’s website.

The decision follows an initiative by Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong to block that newspaper’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, which led to the resignation of the editorial director, Mariel Garza, followed by the resignation of two other members of the editorial board. .

Both Soon-Shiong and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos are billionaires who made their fortunes outside the media industry.

Former WaPo editor objects

Media observers denounced the decisions, while some newspaper readers said they were canceling their subscriptions.

“This is cowardice, with democracy as the victim,” Marty Baron, the former Washington Post editor who retired in 2021, wrote on X Friday about the Washington Post decision. Former President Donald Trump “will see this as an invitation to further intimidate owner @jeffbezos (and others). Disturbing spinelessness at an institution known for courage.”

The Washington Post Guild, which represents about a thousand journalists and other employees of the media company, expressed concern that company management had interfered in the newspaper’s editorial decision-making process.

“According to our reporters and Guild members, an endorsement for Harris had already been prepared and the decision not to publish was made by The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos,” the labor group said in a statement on seeing cancellations from once loyal readers. The decision undermines the work of our members at a time when we need to build, not lose, the trust of our readers.”

Robert Kagan, a senior editor at the Washington Post, has resigned from the editorial board as a result of the decision not to endorse a candidate, according to NPR’s David Folkenflik. “Kagan has been a persistent conservative critic of Trump, tying him to an autocratic tradition,” Folkenflik wrote on X. “Generally outraged response from staff.”

Some readers of both the Post and the Los Angeles Times said they planned to cancel their subscriptions, with some posting images of their subscription cancellation notices.

“Great, another billionaire protecting his own self-interest instead of the country’s. Nice knowing you, @washingtonpost. Canceled subscription,” Hollywood director Paul Feig wrote on X.

Iowa State Senator and Democrat Zach Wahls wrote: “I strongly believe in paying for serious, high-quality journalism, which is exactly why I’m canceling my @washingtonpost subscription over this timid, cowardly decision that couldn’t are taken. come at a worse possible – or more revealing – time.”

The vast majority of reader responses on social media were negative, with many saying they had canceled their subscriptions, although a few expressed support for the Washington Post. “For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of the Washington Post,” wrote one reader.

Lewis did not immediately return a request for comment, nor did Terry Tang, editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Times. Washington Post Director Matt Murray also did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Los Angeles Times resigns

On Thursday, veteran Los Angeles Times journalists Robert Greene and Karin Klein announced their resignations, a day after editor Garza left the editorial page in protest of Soon-Shiong’s decision not to endorse a candidate.

Greene, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing, said in a statement shared with the Columbia Journalism Review that he was “deeply disappointed” by the decision not to endorse Harris.

“I recognize that it is the owner’s decision,” he wrote. “But it hurt especially because one of the candidates, Donald Trump, has shown such hostility to principles at the heart of journalism – respect for the truth and respect for democracy.”

Garza said the board intended to support Harris and that she had drafted the outline of a proposed editorial, but it was blocked by Soon-Shiong.

An editorial board operates separately from the newsroom, and the writers’ job is to present an issue and then take a side and make arguments to defend it.

contributed to this report.