The Capitulation of The Washington Post

[nitpicked]

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/jacob-heilbrunn/capitulation-washington-post-213393

Seldom do editorials make the news. However, The Washington Post, following in the footsteps of The Los Angeles Times, has managed to accomplish that feat by not printing one. William Lewis, the paper’s publisher and chief executive officer, declared on Friday that “we are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates.” So much for democracy dying in darkness and all that. Lewis, an editorial import from Great Britain, created an instantaneous uproar with his decision.

Marty Baron, the former executive editor of the paper, deemed it “cowardice, with democracy as its casualty.” He went on to call the paper’s stand if that’s what it is, “disturbing spinelessness at an institution famed for its courage.” By that, he was, of course, referring to the paper’s determination to uncover the Watergate scandal in the face of multifarious threats from the Nixon administration. Robert Kagan, a prominent columnist for the paper, has resigned from it in protest.
(snip)

The fact that the owners of the Post and The Los Angeles Times, Jeff Bezos and Patrick Soon-Shiong, respectively, are billionaires has not escaped the attention of their critics, who see democracy as dying in the C-suite. Couple it with the news that Elon Musk, a staunch backer of Donald Trump’s third bid for the presidency, has been having secret conversations with Russian president Vladimir Putin, and you have the basis for a perfect storm of suspicion about oligarchs tending not to the public weal but to their own private pecuniary interests.

The Wall Street Journal, no critic of American capitalism, proffers the judgment that the “regular contacts between world’s richest man and America’s chief antagonist raise security concerns, topics include geopolitics, business and personal matters.” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson declared that an investigation into Musk’s dealings is imperative as SpaceX has access to top-secret information. “I don’t know that that story is true,” he said. “I think it should be investigated. If that story is true that there have been multiple conversations between Elon Musk and the president of Russia, then I think that would be concerning, particularly for NASA, for the Department of Defense, for some of the intelligence agencies.”
(snip)

[oldmanlynn]

1. The editorial board should have

The editorial board should have just ignored what Bezos wanted. He wanted to stay on the sideline and not be involved in what his newspaper does. They should have just went forward with the endorsement. So in fact, the editorial board was afraid of Jeff Bezos they were afraid of being fired and of course, many of them are resigning anyway.

[Silent Type]

3. Looks like 16 WP columnists did just that. I found this on my WP news notifications this morning--

Opinion Post columnists respond
The newspaper’s refusal to endorse a presidential candidate is a mistake.

By 16 Post Opinions columnists

October 25, 2024 at 6:50 p.m. EDT

The Washington Post’s decision not to make an endorsement in the presidential campaign is a terrible mistake. It represents an abandonment of the fundamental editorial convictions of the newspaper that we love. This is a moment for the institution to be making clear its commitment to democratic values, the rule of law and international alliances, and the threat that Donald Trump poses to them — the precise points The Post made in endorsing Trump’s opponents in 2016 and 2020.

There is no contradiction between The Post’s important role as an independent newspaper and its practice of making political endorsements, both as a matter of guidance to readers and as a statement of core beliefs. That has never been more true than in the current campaign. An independent newspaper might someday choose to back away from making presidential endorsements. But this isn’t the right moment, when one candidate is advocating positions that directly threaten freedom of the press and the values of the Constitution.

Karen Attiah
Perry Bacon Jr.
Matt Bai
Max Boot
E.J. Dionne Jr.
Lee Hockstader
David Ignatius
Heather Long
Ruth Marcus
Dana Milbank
Alexandra Petri
Catherine Rampell
Eugene Robinson
Jennifer Rubin
Karen Tumulty
Erik Wemple

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/10/25/post-columnist-no-endorsement-2024-trump-harris/?utm_campaign=wp_follow_perry_bacon_jr&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl-perrybaconjr&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3f6c66d%2F671c26abebbf4a6a9896aa41%2F5fb82842ae7e8a48fd1f882c%2F10%2F27%2F671c26abebbf4a6a9896aa41

[CTyankee]

7. So many of those listed are regulars on msnbc I feel I know them. Eugene Robinson in particular is one of my favorites

on msnbc. I remember when he lost his beloved wife of many years that I was so sad for him.

[Igel]

6. We have freedom of the press.

In the case of the WaPo, it's Bezos' press.

[Skittles]

8. or better yet

included Bezos' feelings IN the Harris endorsement

CALL HIM THE FUCK OUT

[gab13by13]

2. Shouldn't it be

the capitulation of Jeff Bezos?

Bezos is either afraid of TSF or complicit.

As Michael Cohen said, TSF wants to be the richest person in the world and if he becomes king he will take Bezos' money in a heartbeat.

[dalton99a]

4. Kick

[CNYHarris]

5. I spend thousands on Amazon per year

That is going to be hundreds per year because of Bezos and the WaPo.

I am already finding where I can buy the same stuff I buy on Amazon for less or equal prices elsewhere. My goal is zero spent at Amazon.