Ditto, but I started subscribing to the Guardian, both US and UK editions, a couple of years ago. The Contrarian, to which I also subscribe, is turning out to be an excellent source of commentary, but that's not the same as news.
I canceled mine two months ago but it was just after my annual renewal…I somehow stumbled into. I wish there was a way of getting my money back for my 10 plus months of unwanted kowtowing
If all you used FB for is amusement, then good for you. For some of us, its professional and/or local and/or interest networks are too important -- and apps like F.B. Purity and Social Fixer make it possible to avoid paying anything.
Suzanne, I confess I am also still on FB, though I don't spend much time there. I mainly use it to keep in touch with friends and relatives with old-fashioned kind of round-robin family news, and FB is the easiest way for us to keep track of each other. I don't know about other people my age, but when I was growing up, we'd get letters from relatives that included letters from other relatives, some of which had been passed on several times. Everybody added a note, and it eventually would make its way back to the original writer. For us, FB works that way. Long ago I figured out how to keep FB from co-opting my page for their purposes so ads are rare. I do also use it for some professional connections, useful without having to join an organization.
But why? First of all, Bluesky (so far) is more a Twitter substitute than a Facebook substitute. Valuable for sure, but not an obvious replacement. Second of all, the networks I know of and/or am part of have been built up over 12+ years. They can't be transported or re-created in a few days, or even a few years. Finally, since I use F.B. Purity, FB is FREE to me and I don't see ads. Yes, it comes with its stupidities, like "you have violated community standards" decrees, but in this it is not unique.
I'm not leaving FB till the benefit/cost ratio gets a lot worse. I get why many people have chosen to leave, but I sure hope they've done the benefit/cost ratio thing and figured out it's a smart thing for them to do.
Gosh tough one. I guess it points to how vulnerable we are to these billionaires, who aimed to get us in this position, so we have no power and they have all of it.
I can't remember when my sub ends, but I fixed it so it won't renew. Until then I'll read the good writers still there, and let them know I appreciate them. Sure hope those good folks are able to transition in a positive way.
That part worries me a little: us leaving hurts them more than leaving hurts Bezos. It was a hard decision to make and I dithered last year when they made a cheap offer, and I figured it was worth it for Jennifer Rubin alone. But when she and more of the other folks left, that opened things up, and I was more than ready to go.. When that runs out, I'm done.
The Post sub money will go to Meides Network. Highly recommend. They are running neck and neck with Fox on readership.
I've been getting the Guardian for a while, and find it a good alternate source, with the plus that I get news from AU as well (friends) and strong coverage of the rest of the world. I follow too many people on Substack for my budget, and am grateful some of them let me in for free. I try to make it worth their while. I wish I could sub for more,, and do a lot of mining for info. One source is not enough, ever, and two rarely. I am both a scientist, an historian, and I do research that seems to be turning me into an ad hoc journalist again.
For my own peace of mind I need a minimum of 3 sound sources on anything. If two sources say the same thing with no variation, they are not two sources, they are one (i.e.: it is likely that one source is simply repeating the other). So I do a lot of reading and a lot of thinking about how things fit together. Sometimes I see through to things that others miss. Sometimes I'm off too, in which case the richness of how we're doing things pays off: somebody will let me know.
Same here about Meidas. It's become indispensable. The Contrarian looks like it's on the way to becoming likewise. Because of my particular interests, Joyce Vance, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Timothy Snyder, and David Rothkopf are also essential -- not least because the comments are so great. Steven Beschloss's "America, America" is excellent, and being a media person, I value his collaboration with Mark Jacob of "Stop the Presses." I'm also doing my best to support financially a few lesser known but very, very good Substacks, but there are limits, both to the budget and to the reading time.
Thanks Allison. I unsubscribed a couple of months ago - when Bezos killed the endorsement of Kamala Harris. Bezos and his ilk can lick Trump’s boots but I won’t be.
Me too. I was happy to see Jennifer Rubin finally quit. I missed WaPo at first, but whenever I wonder if I did the right thing, I think of Bezos’s smirky face and I know for sure I did.
I just canceled a few days ago. I had been teetering for a month or so (since the non-endorsement) but all the journalists leaving and the incredibly lame slogan stunt were the last straws.
Thank you Allison for giving light to your deeply personal experiences and making a difference and statements regarding Dobbs.
The lack of integrity is astounding - and your article today sums it up well.
My plan is to unsubscribe to the Post and to Facebook during the inauguration of DJT. Btw, love the guardian and am also subscribing to the Contrarian. I also am aware of at least two local newspapers that have reorganized as non profits. The Portand Press ( Maine) and the Chicago Sun Times, the latter in an agreement w local PBS TV WTTW
It's the right move. I also unsubscribed. There's no sense in supporting a paper that tacitly supports the terrible things that this incoming administration is planning to do.
Dropped NYT & WaPo, resubscribed and dropped again for the final time. BlueSky, SubStack, The Guardian, BBC, CBC, anything but American corporate media.
When I was in college in the 80s in Oregon, you couldn’t get a print copy of the Post. BUT, there was a publication that printed the paper’s opinion pieces and long form stories that they compiled biweekly and mailed to subscribers. Working in DC was all I wanted to do in my life and in 1995 i achieved that goal. The Post was my companion on bus and train rides to work at the Justice Department every day. Now I live outside the city and rely on an online subscription. Until the inability of the publisher that making a presidential endorsement was bad for (his, personal) business. Me and 250,000 other folks showed him what bad for business looked like. I miss the sports page (those guys are good!), but I won’t go back!
The Ann Telnaes incident pushed me over the edge and I cancelled my subscription a week or two ago. I subscribed to the Contrarian as soon as I learned about it.
Thanks for the context. Given the short-term mindset of American business, it seems obvious that Bezos will pander to Trump until a new sheriff comes to town, when he will then do whatever the new guy tells him. Such is the flexible spine of the oligarchy.
Thank you for this excellent piece. I unsubscribed from WaPo the day after the announcement that Bezos killed the Harris/Walz endorsement. I finally also had to unsubscribe from their emails, in which they daily offered me 1 yr for $50. I wouldn’t read it, not even gratis.
I gave up on the Washington Post a while ago. It's sad. I admired them for years. But I can't continue in all good conscience. I'm listening more to the BBC. I'm going to look into the Contrarian.
Wonderful article. Thank you for making a tough decision & standing tall. This is a nightmare scenario playing out in the US. Watching my home country implode in slo-mo from abroad is breaking my heart.
My subscription ends 2-1-25. I cancelled my auto renew. I subscribed to the Contrarian instead. I feel much better.
Ditto, but I started subscribing to the Guardian, both US and UK editions, a couple of years ago. The Contrarian, to which I also subscribe, is turning out to be an excellent source of commentary, but that's not the same as news.
I also did that.
I canceled mine two months ago but it was just after my annual renewal…I somehow stumbled into. I wish there was a way of getting my money back for my 10 plus months of unwanted kowtowing
I just unsubscribed last week. I felt awful doing it but decided I would feel worse if I didn’t. End of an era for me…
Unsubscribed from Washington Post and deleted my Facebook. Don’t give oligarchs more money. Support public servants who are defending our democracy by undermining Trump: https://democracydefender2025.substack.com/p/the-resistance-is-strong-and-deep
If all you used FB for is amusement, then good for you. For some of us, its professional and/or local and/or interest networks are too important -- and apps like F.B. Purity and Social Fixer make it possible to avoid paying anything.
Suzanne, I confess I am also still on FB, though I don't spend much time there. I mainly use it to keep in touch with friends and relatives with old-fashioned kind of round-robin family news, and FB is the easiest way for us to keep track of each other. I don't know about other people my age, but when I was growing up, we'd get letters from relatives that included letters from other relatives, some of which had been passed on several times. Everybody added a note, and it eventually would make its way back to the original writer. For us, FB works that way. Long ago I figured out how to keep FB from co-opting my page for their purposes so ads are rare. I do also use it for some professional connections, useful without having to join an organization.
Try to slowly move to Bluesky then leave FB?
But why? First of all, Bluesky (so far) is more a Twitter substitute than a Facebook substitute. Valuable for sure, but not an obvious replacement. Second of all, the networks I know of and/or am part of have been built up over 12+ years. They can't be transported or re-created in a few days, or even a few years. Finally, since I use F.B. Purity, FB is FREE to me and I don't see ads. Yes, it comes with its stupidities, like "you have violated community standards" decrees, but in this it is not unique.
I'm not leaving FB till the benefit/cost ratio gets a lot worse. I get why many people have chosen to leave, but I sure hope they've done the benefit/cost ratio thing and figured out it's a smart thing for them to do.
Gosh tough one. I guess it points to how vulnerable we are to these billionaires, who aimed to get us in this position, so we have no power and they have all of it.
Same
You did the right thing Janet.
I canceled my subscription after 30 years of supporting WAPO. I saw no reason to keep supporting what Bezos has done to a once great newspaper.
No need to feel awful. You did the right thing, though certainly doing the right thing often comes with pain.
I can't remember when my sub ends, but I fixed it so it won't renew. Until then I'll read the good writers still there, and let them know I appreciate them. Sure hope those good folks are able to transition in a positive way.
That part worries me a little: us leaving hurts them more than leaving hurts Bezos. It was a hard decision to make and I dithered last year when they made a cheap offer, and I figured it was worth it for Jennifer Rubin alone. But when she and more of the other folks left, that opened things up, and I was more than ready to go.. When that runs out, I'm done.
The Post sub money will go to Meides Network. Highly recommend. They are running neck and neck with Fox on readership.
I've been getting the Guardian for a while, and find it a good alternate source, with the plus that I get news from AU as well (friends) and strong coverage of the rest of the world. I follow too many people on Substack for my budget, and am grateful some of them let me in for free. I try to make it worth their while. I wish I could sub for more,, and do a lot of mining for info. One source is not enough, ever, and two rarely. I am both a scientist, an historian, and I do research that seems to be turning me into an ad hoc journalist again.
For my own peace of mind I need a minimum of 3 sound sources on anything. If two sources say the same thing with no variation, they are not two sources, they are one (i.e.: it is likely that one source is simply repeating the other). So I do a lot of reading and a lot of thinking about how things fit together. Sometimes I see through to things that others miss. Sometimes I'm off too, in which case the richness of how we're doing things pays off: somebody will let me know.
Same here about Meidas. It's become indispensable. The Contrarian looks like it's on the way to becoming likewise. Because of my particular interests, Joyce Vance, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Timothy Snyder, and David Rothkopf are also essential -- not least because the comments are so great. Steven Beschloss's "America, America" is excellent, and being a media person, I value his collaboration with Mark Jacob of "Stop the Presses." I'm also doing my best to support financially a few lesser known but very, very good Substacks, but there are limits, both to the budget and to the reading time.
Thanks Allison. I unsubscribed a couple of months ago - when Bezos killed the endorsement of Kamala Harris. Bezos and his ilk can lick Trump’s boots but I won’t be.
Me too. I was happy to see Jennifer Rubin finally quit. I missed WaPo at first, but whenever I wonder if I did the right thing, I think of Bezos’s smirky face and I know for sure I did.
I just canceled a few days ago. I had been teetering for a month or so (since the non-endorsement) but all the journalists leaving and the incredibly lame slogan stunt were the last straws.
Thank you Allison for giving light to your deeply personal experiences and making a difference and statements regarding Dobbs.
The lack of integrity is astounding - and your article today sums it up well.
My plan is to unsubscribe to the Post and to Facebook during the inauguration of DJT. Btw, love the guardian and am also subscribing to the Contrarian. I also am aware of at least two local newspapers that have reorganized as non profits. The Portand Press ( Maine) and the Chicago Sun Times, the latter in an agreement w local PBS TV WTTW
Salt Lake Tribune is also non profit
So is Deseret News, technically, but that's a whole different bag. Independence from editorial control is the key.
"Riveting storytelling?" Wtf
If journalism is the first draft of history I'll settle for an honest chronicler over a gaudy minstrel spinning ripping yarns every day.
So vapid.
It's the right move. I also unsubscribed. There's no sense in supporting a paper that tacitly supports the terrible things that this incoming administration is planning to do.
Bezos did not have the right to destroy the institution of the Washington Post. The masses already have USA Today and People Mag.
💯
Just want to cry, but if I let myself start..
Dropped NYT & WaPo, resubscribed and dropped again for the final time. BlueSky, SubStack, The Guardian, BBC, CBC, anything but American corporate media.
Oh! And The Contrarian!
When I was in college in the 80s in Oregon, you couldn’t get a print copy of the Post. BUT, there was a publication that printed the paper’s opinion pieces and long form stories that they compiled biweekly and mailed to subscribers. Working in DC was all I wanted to do in my life and in 1995 i achieved that goal. The Post was my companion on bus and train rides to work at the Justice Department every day. Now I live outside the city and rely on an online subscription. Until the inability of the publisher that making a presidential endorsement was bad for (his, personal) business. Me and 250,000 other folks showed him what bad for business looked like. I miss the sports page (those guys are good!), but I won’t go back!
Trump must be upset with Amazon because his paperback of Mien Kampf got lost in the mail.
The Ann Telnaes incident pushed me over the edge and I cancelled my subscription a week or two ago. I subscribed to the Contrarian as soon as I learned about it.
Thanks for the context. Given the short-term mindset of American business, it seems obvious that Bezos will pander to Trump until a new sheriff comes to town, when he will then do whatever the new guy tells him. Such is the flexible spine of the oligarchy.
I might quibble slightly. Why does the oligarchy need a spine?
Thank you for this excellent piece. I unsubscribed from WaPo the day after the announcement that Bezos killed the Harris/Walz endorsement. I finally also had to unsubscribe from their emails, in which they daily offered me 1 yr for $50. I wouldn’t read it, not even gratis.
I deeply appreciate your work.
I gave up on the Washington Post a while ago. It's sad. I admired them for years. But I can't continue in all good conscience. I'm listening more to the BBC. I'm going to look into the Contrarian.
Thanks for this.
The Contrarian = Jennifer Rubin and Norm Eisen, formerly from the WaPo. Life is good.
https://contrarian.substack.com/
Wonderful article. Thank you for making a tough decision & standing tall. This is a nightmare scenario playing out in the US. Watching my home country implode in slo-mo from abroad is breaking my heart.