Owner Jeff Bezos defends Washington Post decision not to endorse as ‘principled’

David Bauder
| Associated Press

new york – Billionaire Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos on Monday defended the paper’s decision not to endorse a presidential candidate as “fair” and “principled” and dismissed any suggestion that he ordered it to protect his business interests.

The decision, announced Friday, reportedly led to tens of thousands of people canceling their subscriptions and protests from journalists with deep histories at the paper. The Post editorial board was prepared to endorse Democrat Kamala Harris before editor Will Lewis wrote instead that it would be better for readers to decide.

Bezos, in a “note from our owner” published late Monday, said editorial endorsements create a perception of bias at a time when many Americans don’t believe the media and are doing nothing to tip the balance of the election.

“Ending them is a principled decision and it’s the right one,” Bezos said.

Bezos wrote that he wished the decision to end presidential endorsements had been made earlier, “at a time further away from the election and the emotions surrounding it. It was inadequate planning and not a deliberate strategy.”

The decision caused waves for days

Bezos’ decision caused an unprecedented spasm of anger both in and outside journalism.

NPR reported Monday that more than 200,000 people had canceled their subscriptions to the paper, citing “two people at the paper with knowledge of domestic affairs.” A Post spokeswoman, Olivia Petersen, had no comment on the NPR report.

A loss of subscriptions of such magnitude would be a blow to a news channel already facing financial difficulties. The Post had more than 2.5 million subscribers last year, most of them digital, ranking third behind The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal in circulation.

Following the decision, two of the newspaper’s columnists resigned, and three of the nine members of the editorial staff resigned. Retired former Post editor Martin Baron, who was editor when Bezos bought the paper, denounced the decision on social media as “cowardice, victimizing democracy.”

The Post’s decision came just days after the Los Angeles Times also said it would not endorse a presidential candidate, which the paper acknowledged cost it thousands of subscribers.

Bezos insists fear of business retaliation was not a factor

Some critics have suggested that Bezos, also the owner of Amazon, ordered the disapproval to protect his business interests, acting out of fear of retaliation if Donald Trump were elected. The paper supported Trump’s Democratic rivals in 2016 and 2020, and Trump has often denounced the paper’s critical coverage.

In his column, Bezos said people can see his wealth and business interests as one of two things — a bulwark against bullying or a web of conflicting interests. He insisted that his views are based on principle and that his track record as owner of the Post since 2013 backs that up.

“I dare you to find an example in those 11 years where I beat anyone at the Post to my own interests,” he wrote. “It didn’t happen.”

He acknowledged that the chief executive of one of his companies, the space exploration team Blue Origin, met with Trump last week, the same day the disapproval was announced.

“I sighed when I found out because I knew it would give ammunition to those who would like to frame this as anything other than a principled decision,” Bezos wrote. “But the truth is, I didn’t know about the meeting beforehand.”

He said that while he does not and will not push his own personal interests, he will not allow the Post to “remain on autopilot and become irrelevant.”

“Many of the best journalists you’ll find anywhere work at The Washington Post, and they work diligently every day to get to the truth,” he said. “They deserve to be believed.”

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David Bauder writes about the media for the AP.