Report: Washington Post to lose money this year as millions of subscribers flee, ad revenue plummets

The Washington Post is reportedly set to lose money this year as it watches its subscriber base shrink and its ad revenue dry up in the wake of the waning media frenzy of the Trump era. 

The paper has seen its digital subscriber base shrink by upwards of 3 million people, while its digital advertising revenue has dropped by around 15%, according to documents reviewed by the New York Times.

The paper's publisher, Fred Ryan has "floated with newsroom leaders the possibility of cutting 100 positions" from the staff's current 1,000-person lineup, the Times said. 

A spokeswoman for the Washington paper disputed the Times' interpretation of the documents, telling the newspaper that the Post was not planning for layoffs but would rather be making new hires and “exploring positions that should be repurposed to serve a larger, national and global audience.”

The Times said it spoke with "more than 20 people with knowledge of The Post’s business operations," though most of them would only speak anonymously with the paper.