Jeff Bezos addresses Washington Post endorsement fiasco, cites distrust in media led to 'principled decision'

Washington Post proprietor Jeff Bezos penned an op-ed defending nan paper's "principled decision" successful not endorsing a statesmanlike campaigner successful nan 2024 race.

Bezos began nan portion Monday by citing a Gallup canvass showing Americans losing spot successful nan media, moreover falling beneath Congress, telling readers "Our occupation is now nan slightest trusted of all. Something we are doing is intelligibly not working."

"We must beryllium accurate, and we must beryllium believed to beryllium accurate. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but we are failing connected nan 2nd requirement," Bezos wrote. "Most group judge nan media is biased. Anyone who doesn’t spot this is paying scant attraction to reality, and those who conflict reality lose. Reality is an undefeated champion. It would beryllium easy to blasted others for our agelong and continuing autumn successful credibility (and, therefore, diminution successful impact), but a unfortunate mentality will not help. Complaining is not a strategy. We must activity harder to power what we tin power to summation our credibility."

WASHINGTON POST REPORTS LIBERALS ARE CANCELING SUBSCRIPTIONS OVER PAPER'S DECISION NOT TO ENDORSE VP HARRIS

Washington Post proprietor Jeff Bezos defended nan determination to extremity statesmanlike endorsements successful an op-ed published connected nan paper's website. ((Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage) ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON POST OWNER JEFF BEZOS WANTS MORE CONSERVATIVE OPINION WRITERS AT PAPER: REPORT

The billionaire Amazon founder, who bought The Post successful 2013, insisted that newspaper endorsements "do thing to extremity nan scales of an election" but alternatively "create a cognition of bias." He doubled down connected The Post's determination to extremity its statesmanlike endorsements by saying it's "principled decision, and it’s nan correct one."

"By itself, declining to endorse statesmanlike candidates is not capable to move america very acold up nan spot scale, but it’s a meaningful measurement successful nan correct direction. I wish we had made nan alteration earlier than we did, successful a infinitesimal further from nan predetermination and nan emotions astir it. That was inadequate planning, and not immoderate intentional strategy," Bezos conceded. 

Bezos denied location was immoderate "quid pro quo" that motivated nan determination and insisted nan gathering nan leader of his institution Blue Origin had pinch erstwhile President Trump, which occurred nan time of nan announcement, was a regretful coincidence, flatly saying "There is nary relationship betwixt it and our determination connected statesmanlike endorsements, and immoderate proposal different is false."

WASHINGTON POST UNION, STAFFERS REVOLT OVER DECISION NOT TO ENDORSE A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, BLAME BEZOS

The Washington Post was group to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris earlier nan move was quashed by nan paper's leadership. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

He went connected to propose that his insubstantial and different members of nan legacy media are retired of touch pinch astir Americans.

"The Washington Post and nan New York Times triumph prizes, but progressively we talk only to a definite elite. More and more, we talk to ourselves," Bezos wrote. "While I do not and will not push my individual interest, I will besides not let this insubstantial to enactment connected autopilot and slice into irrelevance — overtaken by unresearched podcasts and societal media barbs — not without a fight. It’s excessively important. The stakes are excessively high. Now much than ever nan world needs a credible, trusted, independent voice, and wherever amended for that sound to originate than nan superior metropolis of nan astir important state successful nan world?"

"To triumph this fight, we will person to workout caller muscles. Some changes will beryllium a return to nan past, and immoderate will beryllium caller inventions. Criticism will beryllium portion and parcel of thing new, of course. This is nan measurement of nan world. None of this will beryllium easy, but it will beryllium worthy it. I americium truthful grateful to beryllium portion of this endeavor. Many of nan finest journalists you’ll find anyplace activity astatine The Washington Post, and they activity painstakingly each time to get to nan truth. They merit to beryllium believed," Bezos added.

BEFORE NON-ENDORSEMENT DECISION, WASHINGTON POST CALLED TRUMP 'DREADFUL' AND 'WORST PRESIDENT OF MODERN TIMES'

Bezos cited increasing distrust successful nan media arsenic nan logic down nan "principled decision" for The Washington Post to extremity statesmanlike endorsements.  ( SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

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Bezo's op-ed comes aft The Post itself reported that nan billionaire was down nan determination arsenic nan paper's CEO and patient Will Lewis had "sought to tamp down speculation" had made nan determination to thief erstwhile President Trump.

Meanwhile, nan fallout complete nan determination is apparently starring The Post to salary a dense value arsenic NPR reported that nan "Democracy Dies successful Darkness" insubstantial has mislaid much than a whopping 200,000 subscribers since Friday arsenic wide readers stay outraged that The Post is not endorsing Harris. Multiple members of nan paper's editorial unit person besides resigned.

The Washington Post has been struggling nan past respective years. Subscriptions and gross were successful decline anterior to nan paper's announcement astir not endorsing nan statesmanlike race, which has led to buyouts and layoffs of employees. 

Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.