The founder of Amazon and owner of the title since 2013 wants the newspaper’s opinion pages to focus only on the defense of “personal freedoms” and the “free market” economy.
Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos announced that the newspaper’s opinion pages would focus on defending “personal freedoms” and “free market” economics, and that views contrary to those would no longer be published, on Wednesday, February 26.
The decision by the Amazon founder, highly unusual for a daily newspaper of the reputation of the Washington Post, is part of a movement of greater interference on his part in the decisions of the newspaper of reference in the American capital, which he bought in 2013.
Before the November presidential election, Jeff Bezos had notably prevented the Washington Post from calling for a vote for Kamala Harris, while voting recommendations by editorial boards are a tradition in the United States. The businessman, who during Donald Trump’s first term had opposed him on defense contracts, has made a marked rapprochement with the Republican in recent months, and was notably present among the front rows at his inauguration on January 20.
“Massive encroachment”
“We will write every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal freedoms and free markets,” and therefore against economic regulation, Jeff Bezos wrote in a note to the newspaper’s teams on Wednesday. “We will cover other topics of course, but points of view opposing these pillars will be published by others” than the Washington Post, he added.
His decision prompted the departure of WaPo opinion editor David Shipley, and Jeff Bezos announced that the paper was looking for a new editor. The Washington Post ‘s business editor Jeff Stein denounced “a massive encroachment by Jeff Bezos into the opinion section” of the paper.
Stein said he has “not yet felt any interference” in his work as a reporter for the news pages, which are separate from the opinion section. But “if Bezos tries to interfere on the news side, I will resign immediately and let you know,” he added.
In early January, cartoonist Ann Telnaes announced her resignation from the Washington Post, due to management’s rejection of a cartoon in which she criticized Jeff Bezos for, according to her, seeking to “curry favor with Donald Trump.” A version that David Shipley then contested.
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