Jeff Bezos editorial defends Washington Post for changing messaging

Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, has defended his newspaper’s decision to stop endorsing the president, saying the move could help improve credibility.

Mr. Bezos, who is also an Amazon founder, argued in an article on the Post’s website on Monday that presidential endorsements create the “likelihood of bias” and are not “the deciding factor” in an election.

The comments come as a result of public scrutiny, as well as the newspaper’s reported loss of thousands of subscribers and the resignation of some editorial board members.

The decision to stop endorsing a presidential candidate — announced just days before the election — violated a custom the Post had generally followed for decades.

“No undecided voter in Pennsylvania is going to say, ‘I agree with supporting Paper A.’ None,” Mr. Bezos wrote in his defense of the move.

“What the president’s endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. An impression of non-independence. Ending it is a principled decision, and it is the right one.”

The newspaper has endorsed a candidate in most presidential elections since the 1970s. However, in announcing the move, CEO William Lewis described the decision as a return “to our roots of not supporting presidential candidates.”

The leadership of the Washington Post Guild – which represents the newspaper’s workers – said it was “deeply concerned” about the decision.

“We are already seeing cancellations from formerly loyal readers,” the guild said in its statement. “This decision undermines the work of our members at a time when we should be building, not losing, the trust of our readers.”

According to a report from NPR, the newspaper has lost up to 200,000 digital subscribers and several editors, including board members, have resigned. The Post itself declined to comment and Mr. Bezos did not address the report.

In its own news article about the decision, the Washington Post reported — citing two sources briefed on the incident who were not authorized to speak publicly — that the editorial board had planned to support Vice President Kamala Harris, but the article was never published .

Mr Bezos denied that the timing of the decision was a “deliberate strategy”, calling it “insufficient planning”.

“I wish we had made the change sooner, in a moment further removed from the election and the emotions surrounding it,” Mr. Bezos wrote.

But he said the paper needed to “exercise new muscles” to stay competitive and relevant.

The owner of The Washington Post also denied that the decision was a “quid pro quo of any kind” to Harris or her Republican rival for the presidency, Donald Trump.

In addition to the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and USA Today have also announced that they will not support a presidential candidate this time.

Meanwhile, the New York Times and New York Post have endorsed Harris and Trump, respectively.