Owner Jeff Bezos defends Washington Post's decision not to endorse as the right, 'principled' one

NEW YORK -- Billionaire Washington Post proprietor Jeff Bezos connected Monday defended nan newspaper's determination not to endorse a statesmanlike campaigner arsenic “right” and “principled” and pushed backmost against immoderate conception that he ordered it up to protect his business interests.

That decision, announced Friday, has reportedly led to tens of thousands of group canceling their subscriptions and protests from journalists pinch a heavy history astatine nan newspaper. The Post's editorial unit was prepared to endorse Democrat Kamala Harris earlier patient Will Lewis wrote alternatively that it would beryllium amended for readers to dress up their ain minds.

Bezos, successful “a statement from our owner” published Monday evening, 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.

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

Bezos wrote that he wished nan determination to extremity statesmanlike endorsements had been done earlier, “in a infinitesimal further from nan predetermination and nan emotions astir it. That was inadequate planning, and not immoderate intentional strategy.”

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

NPR reported connected Monday that much than 200,000 group person canceled their subscriptions to nan newspaper, citing “two group astatine nan insubstantial pinch knowledge of soul matters.” 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 connected societal media arsenic “cowardice, pinch populist arsenic its casualty.”

The Post’s determination came only days aft nan Los Angeles Times besides said it would not endorse a statesmanlike candidate, which nan newspaper has acknowledged has costs them thousands of subscribers.

Some critics suggested Bezos, besides proprietor of Amazon, 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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David Bauder writes astir media for nan AP. Follow him astatine http://x.com/dbauder.