"Would you inherit a rare Stradivarius violin, polish it up for a few years, and then decide to take a hammer to it? Would you somehow acquire the Hope diamond, set it in a blue velvet case, and then toss the whole thing into the Potomac River? These incomprehensible acts are not too far afield from what Jeff Bezos is doing these days with the Washington Post, where self-inflicted wounds are wreaking what may be permanent damage to a great newspaper."
"The turn began in earnest when Bezos apparently trying to protect his other commercial interests spiked the draft of an editorial endorsing Kamala Harris for president. Whatever one thinks about endorsement editorials, the timing was terrible; it was the 11th hour, shortly before the 2024 election. Unsurprisingly, droves of Post subscribers canceled. They were disgusted by the apparent effort to please Donald Trump at the price of editorial independence."
Jeff Bezos's ownership of the Washington Post has led to decisions that are damaging the newsroom and its reputation. Editorial interference included spiking a draft endorsement of Kamala Harris shortly before the 2024 election, reportedly to protect other commercial interests. That move and subsequent signals that the opinion section should shift sharply right caused many subscribers to cancel. Threatened rounds of newsroom layoffs would further weaken an already depleted staff. High-profile columnists left, and the cartoonist Ann Telnaes departed after a rejected cartoon. Strong, fact-based journalism faces greater risk while Bezos retains control and could reverse course to preserve the paper.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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