Jeff Bezos defends Washington Post's decision to end endorsements

Jeff Bezos connected Monday defended nan Washington Post's determination not to endorse a statesmanlike candidate arsenic "principled," pinch nan billionaire laminitis of Amazon.com arguing Americans judge nan media is biased. Bezos, who bought nan newspaper successful 2013, besides pushed backmost against immoderate conception that he ordered it up to protect his business interests.

On Friday, nan Washington Post's publisher, William Lewis, said the newspaper would not endorse a statesmanlike campaigner successful this year's predetermination aliases successful early elections, a stance that sparked outrage from and immoderate of its existent and erstwhile employees, arsenic good arsenic subscribers.  

In nan aftermath of nan decision, tens of thousands of readers reportedly canceled their subscriptions, while one-third of The Post's editorial committee resigned, according to nan Post. The Post's editorial unit was prepared to endorse Democrat Kamala Harris earlier Lewis wrote alternatively that it would beryllium amended for readers to dress up their ain minds.

In "a statement from our owner" published Monday evening, Bezos said that editorial endorsements create a cognition of bias astatine a clip galore Americans don't judge nan media, and do thing to extremity nan scales of an election. Bezos added that he wished nan determination to extremity statesmanlike endorsements had been done earlier, and blamed "inadequate planning, and not immoderate intentional strategy."

"Ending them is simply a opinionated decision, and it's nan correct one," Bezos said.

Bezos' determination caused an unprecedented tense of anger some wrong publicity and extracurricular it.

The determination followed a move by Los Angeles Times proprietor Patrick Soon-Shiong to artifact that newspaper's endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, which has spurred nan resignation of respective of its editorial committee members. Both Soon-Shiong and Bezos are billionaires who made their fortunes extracurricular nan media industry. 

Washington Post subscriptions

More than 200,000 group person canceled their subscriptions to nan newspaper, citing "two group astatine nan insubstantial pinch knowledge of soul matters," NPR has reported. A Post spokeswoman, Olivia Petersen, would not remark connected nan NPR report.

A nonaccomplishment of subscriptions of that magnitude would beryllium a rustle to a storied news outlet that is already facing financial headwinds. The Post had much than 2.5 cardinal subscribers past year, nan bulk of them digital, making it 3rd down The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal successful circulation.

In nan decision's wake, 2 of nan newspaper's columnists quit, and 3 of nan 9 members of nan editorial committee resigned their posts. The Post's retired erstwhile editor, Martin Baron, who was editor erstwhile Bezos bought nan paper, had denounced nan decision on societal media arsenic "cowardice, pinch populist arsenic its casualty."

Bezos' business interests

Some critics suggested Bezos ordered nan non-endorsement to protect his business interests, acting retired of fearfulness of retaliation if Donald Trump were elected. The Post endorsed Trump's Democratic rivals successful 2016 and 2020, and Trump has often denounced captious sum by nan paper.

In his column, Bezos said group tin spot his wealthiness and business interests arsenic 1 of 2 things — a bulwark against intimidation aliases a web of conflicting interests. He insisted that his views are opinionated and that his way grounds arsenic Post proprietor since 2013 backs that up.

"I situation you to find 1 lawsuit successful those 11 years wherever I person prevailed upon anyone astatine nan Post successful favour of my ain interests," he wrote. "It hasn't happened."

He acknowledged that nan main executive of 1 of his companies, nan space-exploration outfit Blue Origin, met pinch Trump past week connected nan aforesaid time nan non-endorsement was announced.

"I sighed erstwhile I recovered out, because I knew it would supply ammunition to those who would for illustration to framework this arsenic thing different than a opinionated decision," Bezos wrote. "But nan truth is, I didn't cognize astir nan gathering beforehand."

He said that while he doesn't and won't push his ain individual interests, he wouldn't let nan Post to "stay connected autopilot and slice into irrelevance."

"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," he said. "They merit to beryllium believed."

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