In recent months, The Post has reportedly suffered a dramatic decline in subscriptions fueled by boycott campaigns against the "Democracy Dies in Darkness" decisions.
The first was in October, when billionaire owner Jeff Bezos halted the paper's endorsement of then-Vice President Kamala Harris just days before the November election. The second was in February, when he announced his directive for The Post's editorial pages to promote "personal liberties and free markets."
Both instances sparked a mass exodus of paid subscribers and several resignations, including opinion editor David Shipley.
Now the capital city's largest and oldest newspaper is offering generous separation packages to staff who "don't feel aligned" with its supposed move toward the center.
According to an internal document obtained by Fox News, anyone who wants out may get up to 18 months' severance, depending on tenure. There is no word yet on how many disaffected reporters and opinion writers will take up the offer, but a good percentage of the newsroom, by most accounts, is upset by the changes.
But last Thursday, instead of publishing a serious opinion piece about the free market, The Post published an op-ed on why calling Donald Trump a clown is unfair – to clowns.
Curtis Houck of the Media Research Center (MRC) observes that these are confusing times for the outlet that does not quite know what it wants to be.
"It's frustrating," he summarizes.
If The Post could find itself, Houck thinks it could be just what many news consumers are looking for.
"Breaking ranks and just representing something in the center, I think, would be something that people are hungry for," he submits. "The part that's missing right now, among many things, is hirings. Hire conservative journalists."
Houck adds that smaller conservative outlets like The Daily Caller and The Washington Free Beacon have earned the right to a shot at the national desk of a major American newspaper.
