{"id":2564656,"date":"2026-02-05T14:35:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T19:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/far-left-journalist-blames-conservatives-after-wapo-layoffs-apparently-we-should-fund-our-own-smear-campaign-7\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T14:37:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T19:37:28","slug":"far-left-journalist-blames-conservatives-after-wapo-layoffs-apparently-we-should-fund-our-own-smear-campaign-7","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-7\/","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=\"float:left\"><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-7%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=2564656&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 analyzes The Washington Post\u2019s recent layoffs and the broader crisis facing traditional newspapers. It notes the paper acknowledged a halving of search traffic over three years and a drop in daily story output, even admitting that much of its content targeted only a narrow slice of readers. It discusses how some on the political left claimed there isn\u2019t a serious market for hard news among conservatives, a claim the author argues is inaccurate. The article contends there is indeed demand for serious reporting among conservatives and suggests that distrust and hostility toward legacy media\u2014not a lack of readers\u2014pushed conservatives toward alternative outlets. It traces a shift from print to online and the rise of self-reliant reporting on platforms like X, YouTube, and rumble, and also talk radio, which together undercut the monopoly of legacy outlets. The conclusion is that these failures stem from business-model misalignment and audience erosion rather than a conscious boycott by conservatives, arguing that legacy media must adapt rather than blame readers.  <\/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-... &#039;Journalist&#039; Blames ... 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/far-left-journalist-blames-conservatives-after-wapo-layoffs-apparently-we-should-fund-our-own-smear-campaign-4\/\" title=\"Far-... &#039;Journalist&#039; Blames ... After WaPo Layoffs \u2013 Apparently We Should Fund Our Own Smear Campaign\">bias stopped hiding<\/a>. 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, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/far-left-journalist-blames-conservatives-after-wapo-layoffs-apparently-we-should-fund-our-own-smear-campaign-3\/\" title=\"Far-... &#039;Journalist&#039; Blames ... After WaPo Layoffs \u2013 Apparently We Should Fund Our Own Smear Campaign\">entire media ecosystems exist<\/a> 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-... &#039;Journalist&#039; Blames ... 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 main ideas:<\/p>\n<p>When The Washington Post announced sweeping layoffs, its leadership briefly acknowledged some blunt truths: site traffic had roughly halved over three years, and daily story output had fallen. They even admitted that much of what was published was aimed at only a narrow slice of readers. That should have ended the discussion, but many on the left wouldn\u2019t let it go. Alex Kirshner of Slate replied to Max Tani\u2019s reporting with the claim that there isn\u2019t a serious market for hard-news coverage among conservatives.<\/p>\n<p>The piece argues that this claim is detached from reality. There absolutely is a market for hard news among conservatives; the real issue is not a lack of readers but a refusal to pay for being lied to, mocked, and treated as an enemy. Historically, newspapers served a broad American audience, arriving on many doorsteps and job sites, with readers often consuming more than one paper. The author recalls buying physical newspapers as late as 2007 and realizing that some outlets were publishing content that despised him. Meanwhile, better reporting moved online. The broader shift happened because newspapers became stale and overtly ideological, with bias no longer hidden. That erosion of trust helped spur the rise of conservative media\u2014not because conservatives rejected journalism, but because legacy outlets stopped serving their audience. People tuned out, moved to other platforms, and sought real-time news on X or through reporters on YouTube or Rumble, or via talk radio. The left\u2019s information monopoly collapsed not through legislation but through market forces. Without a business model that compels their product into homes, papers like The Washington Post fail, and some blame Bezos for not endlessly subsidizing decline. In reality, Bezos looks like a parent who finally stopped enabling unproductive behavior. Legacy media is faltering: a company that writes for a narrow audience and frequently misleads isn\u2019t profitable. Conservatives didn\u2019t ask to become villains in the national media\u2019s story, and they\u2019re not obligated to bankroll a smear campaign against themselves<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2564657,"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":[4539,5157,56439,7115],"class_list":["post-2564656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-conservatives","tag-journalism","tag-media-bias-2","tag-wapo"],"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\/2564656","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=2564656"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2564660,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564656\/revisions\/2564660"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2564657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2564656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2564656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2564656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}