Sorry, Elon! NY Times, WaPo, LA Times and Other Major Outlets Won’t Pay for a Twitter Blue Check

thewrap.com:

Elon Musk announced earlier this month, all “legacy” verified accounts will lose their blue check. Henceforth, only people who pay $8 a month to subscribe to “Twitter Blue” will receive one.This change also comes with further inconveniences for previously verified users who won’t sign up.

But the main thing — assuming start date doesn’t mean this is a joke — are those blue checks. Musk apparently thinks they’re a kind of status symbol — as opposed to the simple confirmation that a prominent, or public-facing account holder is who they say they are — and he aims to charge for them.But if Musk thought that by stripping “legacy” accounts of their verification, he could convert those account holders into Twitter Blue subscribers, at least when it comes to American media he’s mistaken.

This week, as reported by CNN’s Oliver Darcy, several of the country’s biggest outlets have told employees they won’t bite. “We aren’t planning to pay the monthly fee for verification of our institutional Twitter accounts” The New York Times told Darcy, adding, “we also will not reimburse reporters for the verification of personal accounts” with the sole exception of “rare instances where verified status would be essential for reporting purposes.”The Washington Post rejected subscribing “as an institution or on behalf of our journalists,” a spokesperson told Darcy, noting that “it’s evident that verified checkmarks no longer represent authority and expertise.”In a memo to employees, the Los Angeles Times said it won’t subscribe nor will it reimburse employees who do. “First of all, verification no longer establishes authority or credibility.