By Mike Killalea, NSD president
Jeff Bezos, fresh from doffing his hat to the orange felon and handing him a cool million bucks, is working hard to destroy the Washington Post, which once represented the best in American journalism.
And journalists with integrity are leaving fast. First, the opinion page editor himself, David Shipley, resigned rather than comply with Bezos’s edict that the section prioritize “personal liberties” and “free markets,” and not publish dissenting views in those areas.
Then the highly respected Ruth Marcus, a 40-year WAPO professional, resigned Monday after WAPO publisher Will Lewis declined to run her piece, which was critical of the new policy. Marcus described her column as “respectfully dissenting” from Bezos’ edict.
Marcus wrote that “it breaks my heart to conclude that I must leave.” Her resignation letter was first reported by The New York Times.
These exits from WAPO echo Jim Acosta’s departure from CNN, following the network’s move to demote the sharp Trump critic.
Bezos wrote this missive to the WAPO staff to implement his weird new policy:
“I shared this note with the Washington Post team this morning: I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages. We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others. There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader’s doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views. Today, the internet does that job. I am of America and for America, and proud to be so. Our country did not get here by being typical. And a big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical — it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity. I offered David Shipley, whom I greatly admire, the opportunity to lead this new chapter. I suggested to him that if the answer wasn’t “hell yes,” then it had to be “no.” After careful consideration, David decided to step away. This is a significant shift, it won’t be easy, and it will require 100% commitment — I respect his decision. We’ll be searching for a new Opinion Editor to own this new direction. I’m confident that free markets and personal liberties are right for America. I also believe these viewpoints are underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion. I’m excited for us together to fill that void. Jeff”
https://apnews.com/article/washington-post-resignation-marcus-bezos-8d6ce32b27f5c965fc972d73d0f95aac
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