Editing The Washington Post (section)

==== Political endorsements ====
In the vast majority of U.S. elections, for federal, state, and local office, the ''Post'' editorial board has endorsed [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] candidates.<ref name=Pexton2012>{{cite news |author=Patrick B. Pexton |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/patrick-pexton-the-posts-endorsements-historically-tend-democratic/2012/11/02/6890a49a-250a-11e2-ba29-238a6ac36a08_story.html |title=Patrick Pexton: The Post's endorsements historically tend Democratic |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en |date=November 2, 2012 |access-date=July 5, 2018 |archive-date=July 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705150603/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/patrick-pexton-the-posts-endorsements-historically-tend-democratic/2012/11/02/6890a49a-250a-11e2-ba29-238a6ac36a08_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The paper's editorial board and endorsement decision-making are separate from newsroom operations.<ref name=Pexton2012 /> Until 1976, the ''Post'' did not regularly make endorsements in presidential elections. Since it endorsed [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1976, the ''Post'' has endorsed Democrats in presidential elections, and has never endorsed a Republican for president in the general election,<ref name=Pexton2012 /> although in the [[1988 United States presidential election|1988 presidential election]], the ''Post'' declined to endorse either Governor [[Michael Dukakis]] (the Democratic candidate) or Vice President [[George H. W. Bush]] (the Republican candidate).<ref name=Pexton2012 /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/02/us/post-makes-no-endorsement.html |title=Post Makes No Endorsement |work=The New York Times |date=November 2, 1988 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=September 19, 2021 |archive-date=November 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105025222/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/02/us/post-makes-no-endorsement.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''Post'' editorial board endorsed [[Barack Obama]] in 2008<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/16/AR2008101603436.html |title=Barack Obama for President |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 17, 2008 |access-date=April 4, 2009 |archive-date=April 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422090843/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/16/AR2008101603436.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and 2012;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/washington-post-endorsement-four-more-years-for-president-obama/2012/10/25/6ca309a2-1965-11e2-bd10-5ff056538b7c_story.html |title=Washington Post Endorsement: Four More Years for President Obama |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 25, 2012 |access-date=October 28, 2012 |archive-date=October 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027202419/http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/washington-post-endorsement-four-more-years-for-president-obama/2012/10/25/6ca309a2-1965-11e2-bd10-5ff056538b7c_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Hillary Clinton]] in [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]];<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/hillary-clinton-for-president/2016/10/12/665f9698-8caf-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html |title=Hillary Clinton for President |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 13, 2016 |access-date=October 13, 2016 |archive-date=October 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013112353/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/hillary-clinton-for-president/2016/10/12/665f9698-8caf-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Joe Biden]] in [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 28, 2020 |title=Joe Biden for president |language=en |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/28/editorial-board-endorsement-joe-biden/ |access-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-date=October 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005211345/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/28/editorial-board-endorsement-joe-biden/?arc404=true |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2024, the ''Post'' controversially announced that it would no longer publish presidential endorsements.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />

While the newspaper predominantly endorses Democrats in congressional, state, and local elections, it has occasionally endorsed [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidates.<ref name="Pexton2012" /> While the paper has not endorsed Republican candidates for [[governor of Virginia]],<ref name="Pexton2012" /> it endorsed [[Governor of Maryland|Maryland Governor]] [[Robert Ehrlich]]'s unsuccessful bid for a second term in 2006.<ref name="Pexton2012" /><ref>{{cite news |date=October 26, 2006 |title=Wrong Choice for Governor |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501668.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629002651/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501668.html |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |access-date=April 4, 2009 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> In 2006, it repeated its historic endorsements of every Republican incumbent for Congress in [[Northern Virginia]].<ref>{{cite news |date=October 30, 2006 |title=For Congress in Virginia |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/29/AR2006102900552.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110821080558/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/29/AR2006102900552.html |archive-date=August 21, 2011 |access-date=April 4, 2009 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> The ''Post'' editorial board endorsed Virginia's Republican U.S. Senator [[John Warner]] in his Senate reelection campaign in 1990, 1996 and 2002; the paper's most recent endorsement of a Maryland Republican for U.S. Senate was in the 1980s, when the paper endorsed Senator [[Charles Mathias|Charlies "Mac" Mathias Jr.]]<ref name="Pexton2012" /> In U.S. House of Representatives elections, [[Moderate Republicans (modern United States)|moderate Republicans]] in [[Virginia]] and [[Maryland]], including [[Wayne Gilchrest]], [[Thomas M. Davis]], and [[Frank Wolf (politician)|Frank Wolf]], have enjoyed the support of the ''Post''; the ''Post'' also endorsed Republican [[Carol Schwartz]] in her campaign in Washington, D.C.<ref name="Pexton2012" />

===== 2024 discontinuation of presidential endorsements =====
{{Further|News media endorsements in the 2024 United States presidential election#Newspaper non-endorsements}}

Eleven days prior to the [[2024 United States presidential election|2024 presidential election]], CEO and publisher William Lewis announced that the ''Post'' would not endorse a candidate for 2024. It was the first time since the 1988 presidential election that the paper did not endorse the Democratic candidate. Lewis also said that the paper would not make endorsements in any future presidential election. Lewis stated that the paper was "returning to our roots" of not endorsing candidates, and explained that the move was "a statement in support of our readers' ability to make up their own minds", and "consistent with the values the ''Post'' has always stood for and what we hope for in a leader: character and courage in service to the American ethic, veneration for the rule of law, and respect for human freedom in all its aspects." Sources familiar with the situation stated that the ''Post'' editorial board had drafted an endorsement for [[Kamala Harris]], but that it had been blocked by order of the ''Post''<nowiki/>'s owner Jeff Bezos.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />

The move was criticized by former executive editor Martin Baron, who considered it "disturbing spinelessness at an institution famed for courage",<ref name=":2" /> and suggested that Bezos was fearing retaliation from 2024 Republican candidate Donald Trump that could impact Bezos's other businesses if Trump were elected.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gold |first=Hadas |date=2024-10-26 |title=The Washington Post is in deep turmoil as Bezos remains silent on non-endorsement |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/26/media/washington-post-jeff-bezos-endorsement-turmoil/index.html |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> Editor-at-large [[Robert Kagan]] and columnist [[Michele Norris]] resigned in the wake of the decision, and editor [[David Maraniss]] said that the paper was "dying in darkness", a reference to the paper's current slogan. ''Post'' opinion columnists jointly authored an article calling the decision to not endorse a "terrible mistake", and it was condemned by the Washington Post Guild, a union unit representing ''Post'' employees.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last2=Stelter |first1=Hadas |last1=Gold |first2=Brian |date=2024-10-25 |title=Washington Post won't endorse candidate in 2024 presidential election after Bezos decision |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/25/media/washington-post-wont-endorse-presidential-candidate/index.html |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last1=Roig-Franzia |first1=Manuel |last2=Wagner |first2=Laura |date=2024-10-25 |title=The Washington Post says it will not endorse a candidate for president |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/10/25/washington-post-endorsement-president/ |access-date=2024-10-25 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Mangan |first=Dan |date=2024-10-25 |title=Jeff Bezos killed Washington Post endorsement of Kamala Harris, paper reports |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/25/jeff-bezos-killed-washington-post-endorsement-of-kamala-harris-.html |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Chitwood |first=Adam |date=2024-10-27 |title=Washington Post Columnist Michele Norris Resigns Over Bezos Scrapping Harris Endorsement: 'A Terrible Mistake' |url=https://www.thewrap.com/washington-post-columnist-michele-norris-resigns/ |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=TheWrap |language=en-US}}</ref> More than 250,000 people (about ten percent of the ''Post''{{'}}s subscribers) cancelled their subscriptions, and three members of the editorial board left the board, though they remain with the ''Post'' in other positions.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Folkenflik |first=David |date=2024-10-29 |title=More than 250,000 subscribers have left 'Washington Post' over withheld endorsement |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/10/29/nx-s1-5170939/more-than-250-000-subscribers-have-left-washington-post-over-withheld-endorsement |access-date=2024-10-29 |work=NPR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gold |first=Hadas |date=2024-10-28 |title=Three Washington Post editorial board members step down amid wave of canceled subscriptions over non-endorsement |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/28/media/washington-post-endorsement-subscribers-resign/index.html |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref name="w850">{{cite web |last=Helmore |first=Edward |date=2024-10-29 |title=Washington Post cancellations hit 250,000 – 10% of subscribers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/oct/29/washington-post-subscriber-cancellations |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> An endorsement of Harris was subsequently published by the paper's humorist [[Alexandra Petri]], who explained that "if I were the paper, I would be a little embarrassed that it has fallen to me, the humor columnist, to make our presidential endorsement", and that "I only know what's happening because our actual journalists are out there reporting, knowing that their editors have their backs, that there's no one too powerful to report on, that we would never pull a punch out of fear."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Petri |first=Alexandria |date=2024-10-26 |title=It has fallen to me, the humor columnist, to endorse Harris for president |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/10/26/washington-post-endorses-kamala-harris-satire/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241027014812/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/10/26/washington-post-endorses-kamala-harris-satire/ |archive-date=2024-10-27 |access-date=2024-10-26 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

Condemning the ''Post''{{'}}s decision, several columnists, including Will Bunch, [[Jonathan V. Last|Jonathan Last]], Dan Froomkin, [[Donna Ladd]] and [[Sewell Chan]], described it as an example of what historian [[Timothy Snyder]] calls anticipatory obedience.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bunch |first=Will |date=2024-10-27 |title=Billionaire cowards at Washington Post, L.A. Times show what life under a dictator is really like |url=https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/washington-post-la-times-endorsements-trump-harris-20241027.html |access-date=2024-10-27 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Froomkin |first=Dan |date=2024-10-25 |title=Billionaires have broken media: Washington Post's non-endorsement is a sickening moral collapse |url=https://www.salon.com/2024/10/25/billionaires-have-broken-media-washington-posts-non-endorsement-is-a-sickening-moral-collapse/ |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=Salon |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Last |first=Jonathan V. |date=2024-10-25 |title=The Guardrails Are Already Crumpling |url=https://www.thebulwark.com/p/bezos-kills-washington-post-endorsement-guardrails-falling |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=The Bulwark |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Chan |first=Sewell |date=2024-10-25 |title=The Washington Post opinion editor approved a Harris endorsement. A week later, Jeff Bezos killed it. |url=https://www.cjr.org/political_press/the-washington-post-opinion-editor-approved-a-harris-endorsement-a-week-later-the-papers-publisher-killed-it.php |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=Columbia Journalism Review |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ladd |first=Donna |date=2024-10-26 |title=Editor's Note {{!}} As Fascism Looms, A Free Press Must Stand Up |url=https://www.mississippifreepress.org/democracy-as-fascism-looms-the-free-press-must-stand-and-report-in-the-breach/ |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=Mississippi Free Press |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Andrew Koppelman]], in an opinion piece for ''[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]'', praised the ''Post'' for revealing its cowardice.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Koppelman |first=Andrew |date=2024-10-28 |title=In praise of the Washington Post's cowardice   |access-date=2024-10-30 |url=https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4956389-in-praise-of-the-washington-posts-cowardice/ |website=The Hill}}</ref> In his book ''[[On Tyranny]]'', Snyder wrote that "Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. ... [I]ndividuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Timothy |title=On Tyranny |publisher=Tim Duggans Books |year=2017 |isbn=9780804190114 |location=New York}}</ref> and he, too, condemned the decision.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Snyder |first=Timothy |date=2024-10-26 |title=Obeying in advance |url=https://snyder.substack.com/p/obeying-in-advance |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=Thinking about...}}</ref>