Jeff Bezos defends Washington Post’s decision to not endorse, saying Americans mistrust the media

Jeff Bezos on Monday defended the Washington Publish’s determination to not endorse a presidential candidate as “principled,” with the billionaire founding father of Amazon.com arguing People consider the media is biased. Bezos, who purchased the newspaper in 2013, additionally pushed again towards any notion that he ordered it as much as shield his enterprise pursuits.

On Friday, the Washington Publish’s writer, William Lewis, stated the newspaper wouldn’t endorse a presidential candidate on this 12 months’s election or in future elections, a stance that sparked outrage from and a few of its present and former staff, in addition to subscribers.  

Within the aftermath of the choice, tens of 1000’s of readers reportedly canceled their subscriptions, whereas one-third of The Publish’s editorial board resigned, in line with the Publish. The Publish’s editorial employees was ready to endorse Democrat Kamala Harris earlier than Lewis wrote as an alternative that it will be higher for readers to make up their very own minds.

In “a observe from our proprietor” printed Monday night, Bezos stated that editorial endorsements create a notion of bias at a time many People do not consider the media, and do nothing to tip the scales of an election. Bezos added that he wished the choice to finish presidential endorsements had been accomplished earlier, and blamed “insufficient planning, and never some intentional technique.”

“Ending them is a principled determination, and it is the fitting one,” Bezos stated.

Bezos’ determination precipitated an unprecedented spasm of anger each inside journalism and out of doors it.

The choice adopted a transfer by Los Angeles Occasions proprietor Patrick Quickly-Shiong to dam that newspaper’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, which has spurred the resignation of a number of of its editorial board members. Each Quickly-Shiong and Bezos are billionaires who made their fortunes outdoors the media business. 

Washington Publish subscriptions

Greater than 200,000 individuals have canceled their subscriptions to the newspaper, citing “two individuals on the paper with data of inner issues,” NPR has reported. A Publish spokeswoman, Olivia Petersen, wouldn’t touch upon the NPR report.

A lack of subscriptions of that magnitude can be a blow to a storied information outlet that’s already going through monetary headwinds. The Publish had greater than 2.5 million subscribers final 12 months, the majority of them digital, making it third behind The New York Occasions and The Wall Avenue Journal in circulation.

Within the determination’s wake, two of the newspaper’s columnists stop, and three of the 9 members of the editorial board resigned their posts. The Publish’s retired former editor, Martin Baron, who was editor when Bezos purchased the paper, had denounced the choice on social media as “cowardice, with democracy as its casualty.”

Bezos’ enterprise pursuits

Some critics urged Bezos ordered the non-endorsement to guard his enterprise pursuits, appearing out of concern of retaliation if Donald Trump have been elected. The Publish endorsed Trump’s Democratic rivals in 2016 and 2020, and Trump has typically denounced essential protection by the paper.

In his column, Bezos stated individuals can see his wealth and enterprise pursuits as one in all two issues — a bulwark towards intimidation or an internet of conflicting pursuits. He insisted that his views are principled and that his observe report as Publish proprietor since 2013 backs that up.

“I problem you to seek out one occasion in these 11 years the place I’ve prevailed upon anybody on the Publish in favor of my very own pursuits,” he wrote. “It hasn’t occurred.”

He acknowledged that the chief government of one in all his firms, the space-exploration outfit Blue Origin, met with Trump final week on the identical day the non-endorsement was introduced.

“I sighed after I came upon, as a result of I knew it will present ammunition to those that wish to body this as something apart from a principled determination,” Bezos wrote. “However the truth is, I did not know concerning the assembly beforehand.”

He stated that whereas he would not and will not push his personal private pursuits, he would not enable the Publish to “keep on autopilot and fade into irrelevance.”

“Most of the most interesting journalists you may discover wherever work at The Washington Publish, and so they work painstakingly each day to get to the reality,” he stated. “They need to be believed.”