Washington Post -owner Jeff Bezos was criticized by liberal commentators after his Wednesday announcement of major changes in the opinion of the newspaper, where critics accused him of bending the knee for President Donald Trump.
David Remnick from the New Yorker joined MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Thursday to discuss the position and said: “This is a terrible tragedy. This is the newspaper of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate and much more.”
“And Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post for half the price of his boat, and he treated it like a rubber rubber boat, and it’s a terrible tragedy,” Remnick continued. He argued that Bezos “hit his hands and kissed the Ring of the President of the United States,” for fear of the president, “who behaves like a starting authoritarian.”
Bezos has announced Wednesday that the post would be completely renewed, aimed at “Writing every day to support and defense of two pillars: personal freedoms and free markets.” The opinion editor for the newspaper, David Shipley, also resigned.
Washington Post -owner Jeff Bezos wants more conservative opinion writers on paper: report
The owner of the billionaire Washington Post Jeff Bezos announces new changes in the Post Opinion section. ((Photo by Karwai Tang/Wireimage) Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty images)
The publisher and CEO of the Post, William Lewis, also issued a statement about the changes on Wednesday and said: “This is not about cleaning up with a political party. This is about being crystal clear what we stand for as a newspaper. This is a crucial part of serving as a Prime Minister news public and for all Americans.”
The post came under fire after Bezos stopped the editorial page to endorse former vice president Kamala Harris about Trump in 2024, leaving several staff members to leave the newspaper. The newspaper endorsed former President Biden in 2020 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Former Washington Post Editor Marty Baron During a conversation, the post also hit “Morning Joe” on Wednesday, when host Joe Scarborough asked him to talk about the shake-up, which he said it was shocking.
“I am in favor of free speech. You know, it is in the first amendment there. And news organizations have always honored free speech by having a variety of geeches on their opinion pages.” Said Baron.
“But Bezos is now just close. And he says that only his position on those pages will be represented. And that is really a betrayal of the heritage of the Washington Post. And I think a betrayal of the idea of ​​free expression,” he added.
The Washington Post building in DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty images)
Axios founder Jim Vandeei told “Morning Joe” that Bezos was several owners of media companies that “nod”.
“I am surprised that he not only closed the opinion page,” Vandei told MSNBC. “Put all your money in reporting if you want to be the ‘Paper for the whole of America’ – what he has described. You probably need many reporters in America to do the work. And therefore the idea of, kind of replicating the Wall Street Journal or the Economist and then also says,” Hey, if you don’t agree with the pages. ” It just sounds strange “
Abby Phillip from CNN had two panel members during her show on Wednesday evening who said that Bezos’s last announcement was only part of the problem.
“I now use the hashtags #broken Times and #broken post. The headlines in both articles, I think, are constantly gone and constantly try too softly what’s going on,” said Jeff Jarvis, a professor of Stony Brook University.
“We are in the middle of a totalitarian fascist coup in this country. And if we don’t call it that, if we have the soft pedal, if we don’t have a real discussion about it, I can at least say those words, we can have that discussion, but you won’t see those words in the New York Times of the Washington Post,” he went further.
Another panel member, Touré, an author on a substit, agreed and added: “If we were honest, there should be a Breaking News Banner on CNN and MSNBC all day:” We are now in dictatorship. “
Stony Brook University Professor Jeff Jarvis expressed himself against the announcement of Bezos about the position on Wednesday. (Screenshot/CNN)
Jarvis also thought about the focus of Bezos on personal liberties and free markets.
“It is a ridiculous word play that is going on here. I mean, who doesn’t believe in individual liberties? Who doesn’t believe in free markets? Until a month ago we lived in a democracy, in the capitalist country. Now we have been in an oligarchy and a plutocracy, and things have changed,” he said.
Jarvis added: “He indicates that he is going to use this kind of made -up words to say,” I’m with Trump. ” And like you said, it’s his paper.
The move also led to criticism from prominent Democrats, including California Sen. Adam Schiff.
“In the guise of promoting ‘personal freedom’, the Washington Post will limit freedom of its editors to publish opinions that do not promote the business interests of the owner,” tweeted Schiff.
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“It appears that democracy dies in the hands of Oligarchs,” said Rep. Morgan Mcgarvey, D-Ky.
Michael Schaaffer from Polo wrote in a column For the magazine of the outlet on Wednesday that the democracy ‘died in the darkness’, a reference to the slogan of the Washington Post.
“In the personally announcing that he would perform the editorial line dramatically and in fact not even different views, Bezos added a sharp example to a story that pays a serious threat to the image: the idea that the owner of the owner is written with his new Pal Donald Trump,” has the power of the power. “Schaffer wrote.” Schaffer wrote. “Schaffer wrote.
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The Washington Post did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
