More than 200,000 people have cancelled their Washington Post subscriptions after owner Jeff Bezos withheld the newspaper’s endorsement in the presidential race.
Jeff Bezos took to the columns of his publication to publicly defend his move. “Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election,” the Amazon founder wrote. “No undecided voters in Pennsylvania are going to say, ‘I’m going with Newspaper A’s endorsement.’ None. What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one.”
“I would also like to be clear that no quid pro quo of any kind is at work here. Neither campaign nor candidate was consulted or informed at any level or in any way about this decision. It was made entirely internally,” he stated.
The statement followed the resignation of three members of the Post’s editorial board over the decision to withdraw the publication’s planned endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Critics have labelled the Post’s decision “craven” and “cowardly”. Retired Post editor Martin Baron said the decision showed “disturbing spinelessness at an institution famed for courage”.
In an open statement by current Washington Post employees, writers condemned the publication’s move, stating, “The Washington Post’s decision not to make an endorsement in the presidential campaign is a terrible mistake,” they wrote. “It represents an abandonment of the fundamental editorial convictions of the newspaper that we love.”
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
