{"id":2564641,"date":"2026-02-05T14:19:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T19:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/far-left-journalist-blames-conservatives-after-wapo-layoffs-apparently-we-should-fund-our-own-smear-campaign-6\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T14:20:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T19:20:37","slug":"far-left-journalist-blames-conservatives-after-wapo-layoffs-apparently-we-should-fund-our-own-smear-campaign-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/far-left-journalist-blames-conservatives-after-wapo-layoffs-apparently-we-should-fund-our-own-smear-campaign-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Far-Left &#8216;Journalist&#8217; Blames Conservatives After WaPo Layoffs \u2013 Apparently We Should Fund Our Own Smear Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffar-left-journalist-blames-conservatives-after-wapo-layoffs-apparently-we-should-fund-our-own-smear-campaign-6%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2564641&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The piece centers on The Washington Post\u2019s reported layoffs, admitting a halving of search traffic over three years and a drop in daily output, with executives even acknowledging that much of their content was designed for only a narrow audience. It challenges the claim, attributed to liberal voices like Alex Kirshner, that ther is no serious market for conservative hard news, arguing rather that there always has been a demand for credible reporting and that readers are fed up with dishonesty and hostility from legacy outlets. The author describes the broader shift from print to online media,the erosion of trust in traditional newspapers,and the rise of conservative and alternative media as responses to perceived bias. He contends that the decline of newspapers isn\u2019t simply a market failure but a result of biased, tunnel-vision journalism that misunderstood or dismissed a large portion of the audience, and he argues that conservatives are not obligated to bankroll a smear campaign or subsidize outlets that misrepresent them.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_2)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>When The Washington Post announced sweeping layoffs this week, those in charge at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/far-left-journalist-blames-conservatives-after-wapo-layoffs-apparently-we-should-fund-our-own-smear-campaign-2\/\" title=\"Far-Left &#039;Journalist&#039; Blames ...s After WaPo Layoffs \u2013 Apparently We Should Fund Our Own Smear Campaign\">dying legacy outlet briefly flirted<\/a> with some honesty.<\/p>\n<p>The paper <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/late-breaking-bloodbath-washington-post-hundreds-fired-entire-divisions-shuttered-sports-desk-gone\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">acknowledged<\/a> that its search traffic has been cut in half over a three-year period. Daily story output had also dropped. The brass even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cwyn05d1494o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">admitted<\/a> that much of the garbage being put out was &ldquo;for one slice of the audience,&rdquo; as the BBC reported.<\/p>\n<p>That should have been the end of the conversation.<\/p>\n<p>But for so many people on the left, self-reflection is impossible.<\/p>\n<p>Alex Kirshner, a contributing writer for the leftist outlet <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/author\/alex-kirshner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Slate<\/a>, responded to a post on these facts by Max Tani of Semafor with an absurd claim.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There is not a serious market for &lsquo;hard news&rsquo; for conservatives,&rdquo; Kirshner wrote on X.<\/p>\n<p>He added that editors know this, but would rather &ldquo;scold their own employees for not doing an impossible job.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">There is not a serious market for &#8220;hard news&#8221; for conservatives. Murray knows this. Every editor at every major news publication in the country knows this. They just don&#8217;t want to say why and would prefer to scold their own employees for not doing an impossible job <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bnmPFmbMJU\">https:\/\/t.co\/bnmPFmbMJU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/alex_kirshner\/status\/2019079924426895791?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>That statement is beyond detached from reality.<\/p>\n<p>There absolutely is a market for hard news among conservatives. There always has been. If you&rsquo;re reading this now, that&rsquo;s why.<\/p>\n<p>What there is not a market for is paying to be lied to, sneered at, and treated like an enemy.<\/p>\n<p>For most of America&rsquo;s history, newspapers were edited for Americans. Plural. They landed on doorsteps and job sites. In the last century, many people read more than one paper a day.<\/p>\n<p>They might have argued about opinions, but people more or less trusted the facts.<\/p>\n<p>My own father, a blue-collar conservative, read multiple newspapers while working. I read them, too. Local and national.<\/p>\n<p>I bought my last physical newspaper somewhere around 2007.<\/p>\n<p>There was a moment when it hit me that I was reading things written by people who hated me, and that I was funding it.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, better reporting was already migrating online.<\/p>\n<p>The broader shift was not by accident. Newspapers became stale and rabidly ideological. The bias stopped hiding. Reporting during the Obama years shattered what little trust remained for millions of Americans.<\/p>\n<p>That is when conservative media exploded.<\/p>\n<p>Not because conservatives rejected journalism, but because legacy outlets like The Washington Post rejected their audience. If they had done their jobs, people like me would not have ours.<\/p>\n<p>Conservatives did not wake up one day itching for alternative media. We were pushed there after growing tired of being the target of a daily, coordinated assault on our values, our families, our faith, and our country.<\/p>\n<p>So we tuned out, changed the dial, and stopped paying for the war on us.<\/p>\n<p>Now, entire media ecosystems exist that <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >make bloated newspaper staffs unnecessary<\/a>. We can watch news unfold in real time on X. We can follow reporters directly on YouTube or Rumble.<\/p>\n<p>We can choose writers who respect the truth and us.<\/p>\n<p>Talk radio is no longer the last refuge. The monopoly the left had on information systems was taken without a single piece of legislation. The market spoke.<\/p>\n<p>Without a business model that forces their product into American homes, newspapers like The Washington Post are failing. And now we are told that the failure is our fault.<\/p>\n<p>Some have even blamed Jeff Bezos for refusing to endlessly subsidize the decline. In reality, he looks like a parent who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/far-left-journalist-blames-conservatives-after-wapo-layoffs-apparently-we-should-fund-our-own-smear-campaign\/\" title=\"Far-Left &#039;Journalist&#039; Blames ...s After WaPo Layoffs \u2013 Apparently We Should Fund Our Own Smear Campaign\">finally stopped enabling adult children<\/a> who refuse to change.<\/p>\n<p>Reality is crashing down on legacy media.<\/p>\n<p>A company that writes for a narrow audience, admits it has tunnel vision, and routinely misleads readers is no longer profitable? How is that my problem or my concern?<\/p>\n<p>Conservatives did not ask to become villains in the national media&rsquo;s story, and we are not obligated to bankroll our own smear campaign.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a paraphrase of the piece you provided:<\/p>\n<p>When The Washington Post announced widespread layoffs, the leadership at the faltering paper showed a rare moment of honesty. They acknowledged that online search traffic had fallen by about half over three years and that their daily output had declined. They even admitted that much of what they published was aimed at only a narrow slice of readers. That admission should have closed the conversation, but many on the left resisted self-criticism. For example, Alex Kirshner of Slate responded to Max Tani\u2019s post with a claim that there isn\u2019t a real market for hard news among conservatives, arguing that editors know this but still scold their own staff for doing an impossible job.<\/p>\n<p>The author pushes back, arguing that the claim of no demand for hard news among conservatives is detached from reality. There has always been a market for rigorous reporting within conservative audiences, and readers today demonstrate that demand. Historically, newspapers served a broad audience and landed on front doors and job sites; people often read more than one paper and, while they argued about opinions, they generally trusted the facts. The narrator recalls reading multiple papers as a blue-collar conservative family, and notes that he stopped buying physical newspapers around 2007. He recalls realizing that many reporters seemed to hate him and that better journalism was moving online. The broader shift wasn\u2019t accidental: newspapers became stale and aggressively ideological, with their biases no longer hidden. The Obama era damaged trust for many Americans and helped spark a surge in conservative media\u2014not because conservatives rejected journalism, but because legacy outlets like The Washington Post rejected their audience.<\/p>\n<p>Conservatives didn\u2019t suddenly crave alternative media; they left after feeling targeted by mainstream outlets. They turned to real-time news on platforms like X, YouTube, and Rumble, and found writers who respected the truth and them. Talk radio isn\u2019t the last refuge anymore. Market forces, not legislation, dismantled the left\u2019s information monopoly. The Post\u2019s struggles are tied to a business model that no longer compels its product into American homes; the market has spoken. Some blame Jeff Bezos for not endlessly subsidizing decline, but the author likens him to a parent who finally stops enabling adult children who won\u2019t change. Legacy media is collapsing: a publication that serves a narrow audience, and that often misleads readers, is no longer profitable. The author argues that conservatives did not choose to become villains in the national media story, and they are not obligated to bankroll a smear campaign<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2564642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/WashPo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4539,9566,56439,72954,72346],"class_list":["post-2564641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-conservatives","tag-far-left","tag-media-bias-2","tag-smear-campaign-2","tag-washington-post-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/WashPo.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2564641"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2564645,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564641\/revisions\/2564645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2564642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2564641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2564641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2564641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}