JONATHAN TURLEY: Defiant billionaire Bezos could radically change journalism as we know it

It is not each time that you spell from being Obi-Wan Kenobi to Sheev Palpatine successful twenty-four hours. However, Washington Post proprietor Jeff Bezos now has nan favoritism of having Luke (Mark Hamill) lead a boycott of his "democracy dies successful darkness" newspaper arsenic nan regular of nan darkside.

Figures for illustration erstwhile Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney shared this week that she had canceled her subscription to nan paper. NPR reported connected Tuesday that 250,000 subscribers had trim ties pinch nan news outlet. As of this writing, nan Washington Post has not confirmed nan number of canceled subscriptions. Some, for illustration anti-Trump lawyer and activistic George Conway, moreover appeared to wink astatine his followers and softly target Bezos' Amazon. 

It is simply a acquainted shape for galore of america (on a smaller scale) who utilized to beryllium associated pinch nan near and faced canceled campaigns for questioning nan orthodoxy successful nan media aliases academia.

Then thing fascinating happened. Bezos stood his ground.

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The near has made an creation shape of flash-mob politics, crushing guidance pinch nan threat of economical aliases master ruin. Most cave to nan pressure, including business leaders for illustration Meta's Mark Zuckerberg. 

That grounds came to a screeching halt erstwhile nan unstoppable unit of nan near met nan immovable entity of Elon Musk. The near continues to oppose his authorities contracts and unit his advertisers over his refusal to reconstruct nan anterior censorship strategy astatine X, formerly Twitter.

Billionaire and Washington Post proprietor Jeff Bezos wrote connected op-ed precocious explaining why his insubstantial did not endorse a statesmanlike campaigner this year.

Now, nan near whitethorn beryllium creating different defiant billionaire. This week, Bezos penned an op-ed successful nan Washington Post that doubled down connected his determination not to endorse a statesmanlike campaigner now aliases successful nan future. Some of america have argued for newpapers to extremity each governmental endorsements for decades.

The encouraging facet of Bezos's file was that he not only recognized nan corrosive effect of endorsements connected maintaining neutrality arsenic a media organization, but he besides recognized that nan Post is facing plummeting revenues and readership owed to its perceived bias and activism.

I utilized to constitute regularly for nan Post, and I wrote successful my new book about nan diminution of nan newspaper arsenic portion of nan "advocacy journalism" movement: "Our occupation is now nan slightest trusted of all. Something we are doing is intelligibly not working."

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Bezos antecedently brought successful a patient to prevention nan Post from itself.

Washington Post patient and CEO William Lewis promptly delivered a truth explosive successful nan mediate of nan newsroom by telling nan staff, "Let’s not sugarcoat it…We are losing ample amounts of money. Your assemblage has halved successful caller years. People are not reference your stuff. Right? I can’t sugarcoat it anymore."

The consequence was that nan full unit seemed to spell into vapors, and galore called for Lewis to beryllium canned. Bezos stood pinch Lewis.

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Now, resignations and recriminations are coming from reporters and columnists alike. In a nationalist statement, Post columnists blasted nan determination and said that while possibly endorsements should beryllium ended, not now because everyone has to reason Trump to prevention populist and journalism. The connection produced immoderate chuckles, fixed nan signatories, including columnists Phillip Bump and Jennifer Rubin, who person been many times accused of reckless rhetoric. (Rubin later denounced Bezos for his "Bulls**t explanation" and said that he was simply "bending a knee" to Trump.).

Bezos could do for nan media what Musk did for free speech. He could create a bulwark against defense publicity successful 1 of nan premier newspapers successful nan world. Students successful "J Schools" coming are being told to wantonness neutrality and objectivity since, arsenic erstwhile New York Times writer (and now Howard University publicity professor) Nikole Hannah-Jones has explained, "all publicity is activism."

After a bid of interviews with complete 75 media leaders, Leonard Downie Jr., erstwhile Washington Post executive editor, and Andrew Heyward, erstwhile CBS News president, reaffirmed this displacement successful early 2023 successful a study published by nan Cronkite News Lab, called "Beyond Objectivity" As Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, editor-in-chief astatine nan San Francisco Chronicle, has stated: "Objectivity has sewage to go."

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Few tin guidelines up to this activity different than a Bezos aliases a Musk. However, nan near has agelong created their ain monsters by demanding absolute fealty aliases unleashing absolute cancel campaigns. Simply because Bezos wants his newspaper to reconstruct neutrality, nan near is calling for a boycott of not conscionable nan Post but each of his companies. That is precisely what they did pinch Musk.

A Bezos/Musk confederation would beryllium genuinely a point to behold. They could springiness nan push for nan restoration of free reside and nan free property a existent chance to create a beachhead to regain nan crushed that we person mislaid successful nan past 2 decades.

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The near will judge thing short of full capitulation and Bezos does not look consenting to salary that price. Instead, he could not conscionable prevention nan Post but American publicity from itself.

For nan remainder of us, each I tin opportunity is invited to nan fight, Jeff.

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