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mainer

(12,283 posts)
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 10:11 AM Jan 13

Jennifer Rubin exits the Washington Post -- joins new startup publication!



“Our goal is to combat, with every fiber of our being, the authoritarian threat that we face,” Rubin told CNN in an interview ahead of the publication’s introduction.

Rather than anti-Trump, the founders describe their venture as pro-democracy. They said they have already enlisted about two dozen contributors, including people who played prominent roles in debunking 2020 election denialism and investigating the January 6, 2021, attack at the US Capitol.

“The voices we’ll be featuring are diverse across parties and generations,” Eisen said in a statement, “connected by the shared belief that we need an unshackled media in order to meet this moment, as we face an existential threat to American democracy.”

The Contrarian joins a growing group of publications – like The Bulwark and Zeteo, to name two – that are built on the Substack newsletter platform. Starting Monday, it will publish some content for free but will charge $7 a month for complete access to columns, podcasts, and videos.


https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/13/media/jennifer-rubin-norm-eisen-contrarian-washington-post/index.html

I just subscribed! You can go here if you want to subscribe, too:
https://contrarian.substack.com
66 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Jennifer Rubin exits the Washington Post -- joins new startup publication! (Original Post) mainer Jan 13 OP
I respect Jennifer Rubin Pachamama Jan 13 #1
She used to be a conservative Republican. yardwork Jan 13 #5
Yes, and she used to annoy the hell out of me. Ocelot II Jan 13 #10
I prefer to say she evolved BonnieJW Jan 13 #26
She was one of them ThePartyThatListens Jan 13 #59
Well, either she changed or she wasn't ever MAGA. yardwork Jan 14 #62
Yeah, she seems a bit more sane now, because the rest of her party has gone completely insane ThePartyThatListens Jan 14 #64
Agreed. She is excellent Evolve Dammit Jan 13 #9
I respect her too senseandsensibility Jan 13 #42
She is principled and honest, but is she a... reACTIONary Jan 13 #58
Opinion writers and editors are indeed journalists. summer_in_TX Jan 14 #60
Thanks, good point. reACTIONary Jan 14 #65
thanks markie Jan 13 #2
Salute to someone who refuses to BEND THE KNEE BoRaGard Jan 13 #3
Thanks - I just signed up for the free version, Ocelot II Jan 13 #4
Interesting group of contributors. yardwork Jan 13 #6
I like that line up! tulipsandroses Jan 13 #55
She was first in her class from Berkley law school. n/t Peregrine Took Jan 13 #7
She was one of the few reasons I was reluctant to cancel my Washington Post subscription. Borogove Jan 13 #8
I just subscribed to The Contrarian and canceled my WaPo subscription. yardwork Jan 13 #11
Kick dalton99a Jan 13 #12
Thanks for the link. I just signed up, too. Lonestarblue Jan 13 #13
Any updated stats on how many WaPo subscriptions have been cancelled recently? TheRickles Jan 13 #14
The linked CNN article says 250,000 since Bezos killed the Harris endorsement . . . Journeyman Jan 13 #44
Yes, but that number was quoted a couple of weeks ago. I was wondering if the trend has continued since then. TheRickles Jan 13 #47
I just signed up Polly Hennessey Jan 13 #15
I was wondering when she'd be leaving. intheflow Jan 13 #16
To hell with Jennifer Rubin! JadedButHopeful Jan 13 #17
So much hate, so much anger. People evolve, otherwise they ossify. question everything Jan 13 #18
thank you Celerity Jan 13 #25
Basically because they are former Republicans. speak easy Jan 13 #22
Norm Eisen is not a former Republican. greatauntoftriplets Jan 13 #28
You may be thinking of Norm Ornstein: spooky3 Jan 13 #32
You may be correct...no, you ARE correct... Trueblue Texan Jan 13 #23
Bullshit. She was never for trump, including in 2016 where she voted for JohnSJ Jan 13 #27
Thank you. Good to hear the truth. emulatorloo Jan 13 #50
I'm not understanding your point here. yardwork Jan 13 #33
She leaves one authoritarian entity and broadcasts it on another (CNN). live love laugh Jan 13 #19
"Rubin's existential dark night of the soul was reflected in her disperate daily on-air wordrobe choices" prodigitalson Jan 13 #20
"disperate daily on-air wordrobe choices?" What are you even trying to say? thebigidea Jan 13 #53
nevermind, I had her confused with someone else...sorry prodigitalson Jan 17 #66
I just subscribed too! nt Trueblue Texan Jan 13 #21
Here's her Bluesky post: Dennis Donovan Jan 13 #24
You can't ethically work for Bezos in the field of journalism Prairie Gates Jan 13 #29
Yes DENVERPOPS Jan 13 #54
No surprise. The Post lost millions of subscribers PennRalphie Jan 13 #30
I came here to post about this as well...... Takket Jan 13 #31
I left too Jilly_in_VA Jan 13 #34
I unsubscribed today too. yardwork Jan 13 #35
I've already subscribed! mcar Jan 13 #36
I have been hoping they'd do this!!! Signed up for free. If they're good, I'll subscribe in a month. Scrivener7 Jan 13 #37
Thanks, I'll check it out. n/t Martin Eden Jan 13 #38
Done. Thanks for posting. justhanginon Jan 13 #39
Just signed up. Although already have subscriptions wordstroken Jan 13 #40
Bezos is bleeding talent stollen Jan 13 #41
MSM soon to be replaced by Independent Media (IM) Joinfortmill Jan 13 #43
TY & JR Kick Cha Jan 13 #45
I've already joined a couple of Substack groups COL Mustard Jan 13 #46
You can subscribe free and BlueSky3 Jan 13 #52
I hoped, and believed, Mme. Defarge Jan 13 #48
Lots of great people involved: Celerity Jan 13 #49
Just subscribed, for the free version. Will probably upgrade to paid in Feb or March. emulatorloo Jan 13 #51
Ty. Signed for free. Will appreciate what I can get electric_blue68 Jan 13 #56
Contributors will include.... reACTIONary Jan 13 #57
Joyce Vance is also in on this. soldierant Jan 14 #61
Will it be non-profit? Maybe that it's on substack says it all, but I'm not educated about this stuff. nt LAS14 Jan 14 #63

Pachamama

(17,182 posts)
1. I respect Jennifer Rubin
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 10:13 AM
Jan 13

Have not always agreed with her on all issues - but think she is a principled and honest journalist.

Not surprised at this news and I will look forward to reading her articles.

yardwork

(65,396 posts)
5. She used to be a conservative Republican.
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 10:20 AM
Jan 13

It's been interesting to watch her transformation. I'm sure I would disagree with her about a number of things, but right now she's laser-focused on the threat to our democracy from Republicans. I respect that.

Ocelot II

(122,816 posts)
10. Yes, and she used to annoy the hell out of me.
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 10:36 AM
Jan 13

But it was just the usual old-style GOP stuff that you could have a rational argument about, not the foaming-at-the-mouth lunacy we're subjected to now by the remaining "conservative" columnists - meatheads like Hugh Hewett, for example. She certainly has figured out that the old GOP is dead, and maybe she's also figured out that even the old one wasn't that great.

yardwork

(65,396 posts)
62. Well, either she changed or she wasn't ever MAGA.
Tue Jan 14, 2025, 10:28 AM
Jan 14

I remember reading her over the years and disagreeing with a lot of what she wrote, but I don't recall her having a MAGA bent.

If she agreed with MAGA, she'd be supportive if Trump, and she's not.

Nowadays, I agree with her more than disagree. If we make it through this crisis, maybe she'll go back to writing things I don't agree with. For now, I'm glad to have a sane voice speaking up against Trumpism.

 
64. Yeah, she seems a bit more sane now, because the rest of her party has gone completely insane
Tue Jan 14, 2025, 01:27 PM
Jan 14

Let's just say you're more generous than I am.

I have little, to no, respect for all Republicans.

senseandsensibility

(20,803 posts)
42. I respect her too
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 02:14 PM
Jan 13

but one thing to keep in mind is that all these "reasonable" republicans like her, Steele, Cheney, etc. still stubbornly cling onto insane conservative dogma even in the face of powerful evidence to the contrary. For instance, I wouldn't be surprised if Rubin, specifically, supports tax cuts for the wealthy as some kind of economic guiding light. There is no evidence that those help anyone but the extremely wealthy and hurt everyone else. Still, people like Rubin cling onto it and I think that's why they won't just become Democrats.

reACTIONary

(6,292 posts)
58. She is principled and honest, but is she a...
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 10:35 PM
Jan 13

.... journalist? Maybe, for some definition of "journalist", but she doesn't do any original news reporting, as far as I can tell. To me she is a pundit, which is often a pejorative, although I don't take it that way.

summer_in_TX

(3,431 posts)
60. Opinion writers and editors are indeed journalists.
Tue Jan 14, 2025, 12:14 AM
Jan 14

The ones who are ethical, as she is, go to great lengths to verify the content of their opinion pieces. Journalism is more than straight reporting.

The service that a good opinion writer does for the country, city, or state is to bring awareness to the conscience of the reader a host of issues that affect good governance, democracy, and the lives of people. Straight reporting is of course important, but consider how much opinion writers do to shine a light onto misdeeds and hold the powerful to account through the stories they share in their columns.



BoRaGard

(3,946 posts)
3. Salute to someone who refuses to BEND THE KNEE
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 10:15 AM
Jan 13

or go Brown Noser on the IncomingG.O.P. KristoFascist KlusterBuster.

NB - Bezos' funky phallus fails to rise today. Omen?

Ocelot II

(122,816 posts)
4. Thanks - I just signed up for the free version,
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 10:19 AM
Jan 13

might pay for a subscription later. Contributors will include Norm Eisen, Joyce Vance, Andy Borowitz, Laurence Tribe, Katie Phang, George Conway, Olivia Julianna and Harry Litman.

yardwork

(65,396 posts)
6. Interesting group of contributors.
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 10:22 AM
Jan 13

I looks like Trump has created a counter-movement made up of intellectuals from various points of view, now coming together to form a united front.

Very interesting.

Borogove

(123 posts)
8. She was one of the few reasons I was reluctant to cancel my Washington Post subscription.
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 10:30 AM
Jan 13

The other was their climate change reporting. I cancelled it anyway.

yardwork

(65,396 posts)
11. I just subscribed to The Contrarian and canceled my WaPo subscription.
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 10:39 AM
Jan 13

Canceling my Washington Post subscription makes me very sad. It's the end of an era. A lot of things are changing.

Lonestarblue

(12,203 posts)
13. Thanks for the link. I just signed up, too.
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 10:42 AM
Jan 13

I still read the Post because my subscription doesn’t expire for a few more months, after which I’ll ignore it as a media source. It truly makes me sad to see what has become of the Post. It is supposedly losing millions of dollars, but everything Bezos and Lewis are doing is driving away their own assets and losing subscribers. I wish Bezos would just sell it and allow someone who cares about honest media resurrect the Post.

Journeyman

(15,236 posts)
44. The linked CNN article says 250,000 since Bezos killed the Harris endorsement . . .
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 05:23 PM
Jan 13
But Rubin does have one data point as motivation. In the wake of the Post’s non-endorsement scandal, at least 250,000 customers dropped their subscriptions. For a Post veteran walking out the door in protest, those fellow protesters might be the starting point for a new subscription business.

intheflow

(29,308 posts)
16. I was wondering when she'd be leaving.
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 10:56 AM
Jan 13

She's just too good to stay at a paper where it's masthead has been perverted from "Democracy dies in darkness," meaning they have an obligation to sine a light on democratic abuses, to "Democracy dies in darkness" as instructions on how to kill democracy. I can't wait to take the money I had invested in WaPo and give it to Rubin directly, instead.

JadedButHopeful

(19 posts)
17. To hell with Jennifer Rubin!
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 11:17 AM
Jan 13

I'd like to drop in a contrarian view here.

I know a lot of people are inclined to welcome Jennifer Rubin's "evolution" to an anti-Trump position because that's what we do as progressives.

But I can't emphasize enough that there would be no Trump if it weren't for "conservatives" like Jennifer Rubin laying the ground work for decades and poisoning the body politic.

People like Jennifer Rubin, George Conway, Rick Wilson, etc. etc. SHOULD BE ON THEIR HANDS AND KNEES BEGGING FOR FORGIVENESS for what they've done to our country.

They can oppose Trump all they want but they will always be complicit in my view for his rise.

To hell with Jennifer Rubin!

Trueblue Texan

(3,142 posts)
23. You may be correct...no, you ARE correct...
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 11:47 AM
Jan 13

...about conservatives paving the way for what is happening now. But if we want to change our nation's direction, we have to work with those that are willing to work for the same end. We can't throw away our allies, even if we don't agree with them on everything.

JohnSJ

(97,360 posts)
27. Bullshit. She was never for trump, including in 2016 where she voted for
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 12:07 PM
Jan 13

Hillary where some self-identified progressives not only refused to vote for Hillary, but went out of their way to encourage others not to vote for Hillary in the general election in 2016, and that includes such notables David Sirota, Nina Turner, Cornell West, Jill Stein, Susan Sarandon, etc etc etc

yardwork

(65,396 posts)
33. I'm not understanding your point here.
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 12:37 PM
Jan 13

I'm not voting for Jennifer Rubin. I'm signing up to hear what she has to say. I don't have to forgive her or believe her or agree with her.

However, at this point in this national emergency, I think it's important to band together as much as possible.

live love laugh

(14,887 posts)
19. She leaves one authoritarian entity and broadcasts it on another (CNN).
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 11:43 AM
Jan 13

I’m pretty sure she is taking advantage of the opportunity for publicity but fuck CNN too otherwise.

prodigitalson

(3,042 posts)
20. "Rubin's existential dark night of the soul was reflected in her disperate daily on-air wordrobe choices"
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 11:44 AM
Jan 13

"Rubin's existential dark night of the soul was reflected in her disperate daily on-air wordrobe choices" prodigitalson 2025

Dennis Donovan

(28,993 posts)
24. Here's her Bluesky post:
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 11:51 AM
Jan 13
Jen Rubin
‪@jenrubin.bsky.social‬
BIG NEWS. I have left the Post. Corporate and billionaire media are failing to meet the moment. With @normeisen.bsky.social I'm launching @contrariannews.bsky.social. We'll have politics but also cooking, humor, film and even pets. Please subscribe and join the fight. contrarian.substack.com

January 13, 2025 at 9:20 AM


https://bsky.app/profile/jenrubin.bsky.social/post/3lfmwndwhss24

Prairie Gates

(4,019 posts)
29. You can't ethically work for Bezos in the field of journalism
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 12:22 PM
Jan 13

He has put his thumb on the scale. It is a betrayal of the readers to continue to pantomime as if the Washington Post is anything other than a house organ for a propagandistic billionaire.

DENVERPOPS

(10,688 posts)
54. Yes
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 09:06 PM
Jan 13

Very well said PG.......Same with most all of the entirely Republican owned/operated media in the country.....

And the print media, like WaPo, NYT are stupid by trying ALSO to appeal to the Trumphumpers when they don't even read !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But their OWNERS get brownie points from the Republican Party and Trump for trying......

PennRalphie

(386 posts)
30. No surprise. The Post lost millions of subscribers
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 12:28 PM
Jan 13

They refused to endorse Kamala Harris. I fully expected this exodus to happen. Falling subscriptions, less ad revenue. They probably asked her to take a pay cut. I remember how many here cancelled their subscriptions when that happened. I’m sure most other democratic voters did the same.

It sounds like a very intelligent group of contributors. I’m sure they’ll do well.

Takket

(22,832 posts)
31. I came here to post about this as well......
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 12:31 PM
Jan 13

Saw this on BlueSky. Please spread the word about this. Part of taking back our country is going to be shunning media owned by billionaires. The MSM fought for and successfully brought us a second drumpf presidency, and if their billionaire owners are going to turn them into propaganda outlets, then we need to UPLIFT independent sources. And this looks like a good one to start.

Jilly_in_VA

(11,501 posts)
34. I left too
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 12:38 PM
Jan 13

I tried to stay, but this was it. The new commenting section was awful. but I was struggling through. However, this was absolutely IT for me. Jen Rubin is a thoughtful, informed columnist, perhaps a little more conservative than I am, but I like her. A LOT. And I can always learn something from her.

wordstroken

(715 posts)
40. Just signed up. Although already have subscriptions
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 01:43 PM
Jan 13

to many of the contributors. Looking forward to reading more.

Thanks for the info, mainer.
Much appreciated!

COL Mustard

(7,177 posts)
46. I've already joined a couple of Substack groups
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 05:45 PM
Jan 13

They can get expensive quickly. I’ll have to think about this one, although I love JR’s commentary.

Celerity

(47,829 posts)
49. Lots of great people involved:
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 08:00 PM
Jan 13

I am launching this endeavor with my cofounder, Norm Eisen. Founding contributors will include Joyce Vance, Andy Borowitz, Laurence Tribe, Katie Phang, George Conway, Olivia Julianna, Harry Litman (who recently resigned from the LA Times for reasons similar to mine for leaving the Post), and Asha Rangappa, among many other brilliant voices.

emulatorloo

(45,728 posts)
51. Just subscribed, for the free version. Will probably upgrade to paid in Feb or March.
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 08:24 PM
Jan 13

I was wondering when she was going to leave WAPO and what she was going to do next. She’s smart and thoughtful and appreciate her analysis.

Thanks so much for posting the article.

reACTIONary

(6,292 posts)
57. Contributors will include....
Mon Jan 13, 2025, 10:29 PM
Jan 13

.... Contributors will include .... Andy Borowitz....

So, that's going to make it lively!

soldierant

(8,167 posts)
61. Joyce Vance is also in on this.
Tue Jan 14, 2025, 01:09 AM
Jan 14

She mentioned it in her "Civil Discourse Substack today - and also mentioned there were a number of good people involved.

Subscribing to a Substack newsletter is basically free. They all have something or some things you don't get if you choose not to pay (or can't afford to), but you get most of the content with a free sub.

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