Washington Post Star Suddenly Quits

Veteran Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin resigned from her position on Monday, January 13, 2025, after launching a new media venture. Her exit shocked readers, and came after she pointed heavy criticism at the Post’s billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, and what she describes as corporate media’s failure to confront authoritarianism.

Rubin, 62, partnered with former White House ethics czar Norm Eisen, 64, to launch “The Contrarian,” a Substack-based online publication with the tagline “Not Owned By Anybody.” This tagline directly references Rubin’s concerns about billionaire media ownership.

“Our goal is to combat, with every fiber of our being, the authoritarian threat that we face,” Rubin told CNN.

Rubin asserts that corporate and billionaire media owners have exploited their audiences’ trust, compromising journalism’s critical role in safeguarding democracy. Instead of upholding democratic values, she claims these owners have facilitated what she considers the most significant threats to democracy—Donald Trump and his allies—at a time when an independent and vigilant press is most needed. She advocates for creating a genuinely independent media outlet that, in her view, would stand firm against the administration and refuse to equivocate or succumb to external pressures.

Several specific incidents drove Rubin’s decision to leave, including the Post’s refusal to publish a satirical cartoon depicting Bezos bending at the knee for Donald Trump and the blocking of a planned Kamala Harris endorsement last fall. The Harris endorsement controversy reportedly led to an exodus of hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

According to Eisen, “The Contrarian” will feature approximately two dozen contributors who are “diverse across parties and generations.” The platform will be “defiant and uncompromising” and “free from false equivalence.” Full access will cost $7 monthly, though some content will be available for free at launch.

Beyond politics, Rubin posted to X that “The Contrarian” will include “cooking, humor, film, and even pets.”

Bezos appears increasingly involved in the Post’s operations since he purchased it from the Graham family for $250 million in 2013. Under the Graham family’s 80-year ownership, the paper won several Pulitzer Prizes and was home to journalism titans like former editor Ben Bradlee. The Post’s business challenges include Amazon’s (owned by Bezos) $1 million donation to Trump’s inaugural fund, which Rubin cited as another factor in her departure.

Rubin’s departure comes during what Post executive editor Matt Murray called a “period of significant change” at the paper. Last week, the Post laid off four percent of its staff, including most of its public relations department. Earlier this month, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned after her Bezos cartoon was rejected.

The Post has experienced a dramatic decline in readership since 2021. According to a Semafor report, daily active users dropped from 22.5 million shortly after the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot to 2.5 and 3 million last summer; these figures were before the latest exit. The paper has won just two Pulitzer Prizes since 2020, compared to The New York Times’ ten during the same period.

Murray addressed these challenges in a Monday morning email to staff titled “The Future,” writing: “The Post has come through tough moments before, and I am confident we will again. The world needs a stronger Post. That’s why I came here and am proud to be here.”

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