Covering a corrupt president turned the Washington Post into an international phenomenon during Watergate, making its name synonymous with fearless journalism. However, just last week, the news organization cut around 400 jobs, with some reporters learning about their layoffs while still in conflict zones.
Media outlets are struggling due to declines in advertising revenue and online traffic, so job cuts aren’t particularly shocking. But since Jeff Bezos purchased the company, acquired rights to The Apprentice, and produced an extravagant documentary featuring Melania Trump, critics are questioning if politics rather than profits is truly driving these changes.
Marty Baron was the executive editor at the paper when Bezos took over and when they won 11 Pulitzers. He mentions that during Donald Trump’s first term as president, the tech billionaire was involved and supportive. The decision to withdraw support for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election marked a shift from his previously hands-off style. “Trump had promised retribution against his perceived political enemies throughout that campaign. And Bezos was perceived as a political enemy for one reason. And one reason only, and that was the coverage of the Washington Post.”
Jeremy Barr, who covers media and power for Guardian US and has worked at the Post before, says Bezos clearly doesn’t want to keep losing money through this newspaper. But considering he’s rich enough to sustain five years of losses with just a week’s earnings, why can’t he appreciate its value? Nosheen Iqbal poses this question to Barr: “I think that’s the sort of million-dollar question: why he can’t see this as a kind of public service endeavor in which he’s willing to take some losses for the benefit of the country and the world.”
Composite: Ken Cedeno/Reuters
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