The Washington Post kills off its "Democracy Dies In Darkness" slogan

The Washington Post used to think democracy dies in darkness, but it apparently has no need for that silly old slogan anymore. Let’s not think too hard about the fact that it was originally adopted in 2017 to underscore the paper’s position on Donald Trump’s first term, and now, as he threatens the fabric of democracy once more, it’s going away. That’s a little too much to bear. Instead, let’s focus on the fact that the paper’s new slogan is “Riveting Storytelling for All of America,” which specifically includes “conservatives” and anyone seeking out “an A.I.-fueled platform for news,” according to an internal WaPo presentation, per The New York Times. Yeah, it’s hard to find much of a positive swing on this one.

This shift has unfortunately been a long time coming. The paper is owned by future inauguration attendee Jeff Bezos, who refused to endorse Kamala Harris in October—a decision that led to over 200,000 cancellations, around 8% of the paper’s subscriber base (per NPR). Still, the details are pretty stomach-churning—enough to inspire a letter to Bezos signed by over 400 employees questioning “the integrity of this institution.” 

According to NYT, a deck presented to executives this week described the Post‘s new mission statement as “Storytelling… [which should] bring a relentless investigative spirit, backed by credible sources, to deliver impactful stories in formats the world wants.” Those formats will apparently come via making the Post “an A.I.-fueled platform for news” (whatever that means) that delivers “vital news, ideas and insights for all Americans where, how and when they want it.” Traditionally, the role of the news has been to “tell all the truth,” as a different slide articulated, not to tell subscribers what they want to hear. Still, catering more to your audience means the potential for more money, which is one of the next era’s three pillars. (The others include “great journalism” and “happy customers.”)

The paper reportedly has a rather disgustingly phrased “Big Hairy Audacious Goal” (or “B.H.A.G.”) to reach 200 million paying users by an unspecified time, which the deck compared with putting a man on the moon. If there’s any joy to be gleaned from this descent into darkness, it’s from the not-so-subtle competitive spirit the New York Times includes in their report. The Post currently has fewer than three million digital subscribers, it writes, while The Times, an “industry leader,” has roughly 11 million. Immediately after citing “make money” as one of the Post‘s three new pillars, the NYT also writes: “The Post lost roughly $77 million in 2023.” Democracy may be dead, but playground digs will live forever.