Jeff Bezos, Owner of The Washington Post, Unveils Changes to Opinion Section | US News
Jeff Bezos, the proprietor of The Washington Post, stated that the newspaper’s opinion section will advocate “daily in support and defence of… personal liberties and free markets,” seemingly positioning the publication alongside the US political right.
In a message to staff shared on X, Mr. Bezos remarked: “We’ll certainly cover other subjects, but differing views from these core principles will be left for others to express.”
Since acquiring the Post in 2013, Mr. Bezos, who also owns Amazon, has generally maintained a hands-off approach concerning the paper’s editorial direction.
However, there appeared to be a shift during last year’s US presidential election when he prevented the Post’s editorial board from endorsing Donald Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris.
Additionally, Mr. Bezos declined to allow the publication of a satirical cartoon in January, which illustrated him kneeling before a depiction of Mr. Trump accepting a bag of cash.
Following Mr. Bezos’s decision to block the endorsement for Ms. Harris, the newspaper lost 250,000 subscribers, and several employees resigned over his influence in recent months.
On the day after the election, Mr. Bezos congratulated Trump “on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory,” while Amazon was among the corporations that contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund, a move critics allege is an attempt to gain the president’s favor.
In Mr. Bezos’s announcement today, he noted that the Post’s opinion editor, David Shipley, had “chosen to step away,” though it remains uncertain whether he resigned or was dismissed.
Mr. Bezos stated: “There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that held a local monopoly, might have viewed it as a service to offer its readers a diverse opinion section each morning. Today, the internet fulfills that role.”
“I am of America and for America, and I take pride in that. Our nation did not reach this point by being ordinary.”
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He further remarked: “A major component of America’s success has been freedom within the economic sphere and beyond. Freedom is ethical—it reduces coercion—and practical—it fosters creativity, innovation, and prosperity.”
“I am confident that free markets and personal liberties are the right path for America. I also believe these perspectives are underrepresented in the current landscape of ideas and news opinion. I am eager for us to work together to address that gap.”
Jeff Stein, chief economics reporter at the Post, tweeted after the email was released: “Significant intrusion by Bezos into The Washington Post’s opinion section – it shows that dissenting views will not be aired.”
“While I haven’t felt any intrusion in my reporting on the news side, if Bezos attempts to interfere there, I will resign immediately and inform you all.”
