Tipsheet

Bezos Blasts the Media...in His Own Newspaper

Katie Pavlich
Katie Pavlich  |  October 29, 2024 5:30 PM

For the first time in decades the Washington Post, and a number of other major newspapers, declined to endorse a candidate for U.S. president. Given they almost always endorse the Democrat, it's a blow to Vice President Kamala Harris. 

A number of folks who work at the Washington Post melted down, with some even resigning and 200,000 readers cancelled their subscriptions. 

But the billionaire owner of the publication, Jeff Bezos, issued an explanation in his own paper on Monday, "The hard truth: Americans don’t trust the news media. A note from our owner."

Bezos didn't hold back about the current state of media. 

"We must be accurate, and we must be believed to be accurate. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but we are failing on the second requirement. Most people believe the media is biased. Anyone who doesn’t see this is paying scant attention to reality, and those who fight reality lose. Reality is an undefeated champion. It would be easy to blame others for our long and continuing fall in credibility (and, therefore, decline in impact), but a victim mentality will not help. Complaining is not a strategy. We must work harder to control what we can control to increase our credibility," he wrote. "Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election. 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."

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"While I do not and will not push my personal interest, I will also not allow this paper to stay on autopilot and fade into irrelevance — overtaken by unresearched podcasts and social media barbs — not without a fight. It’s too important. The stakes are too high. Now more than ever the world needs a credible, trusted, independent voice, and where better for that voice to originate than the capital city of the most important country in the world? To win this fight, we will have to exercise new muscles. Some changes will be a return to the past, and some will be new inventions. Criticism will be part and parcel of anything new, of course. This is the way of the world. None of this will be easy, but it will be worth it. I am so grateful to be part of this endeavor. Many of the finest journalists you’ll find anywhere work at The Washington Post, and they work painstakingly every day to get to the truth. They deserve to be believed," he continued. 

The employees are still complaining.