More than 400 Washington Post reporters sent an angry letter to owner Jeff Bezos on Wednesday, pleading with him to intervene in the paper's direction to restore “lost credibility.”
The move comes as the Beltway paper joins a growing list of high-profile journalists it is exiting after the paper intervened to prevent Bezos from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. It was held in
Mr. Bezos defended the decision in an op-ed for the paper, and about 300,000 readers canceled their subscriptions within days of the end of support.
“You recently wrote that it is essential to ensure this newspaper’s long-term success and editorial independence. We agree, and we hope you are as proud of The Washington Post as we are.” I believe I have it.” the letter has started.
“We are deeply concerned by recent leadership decisions that break with our tradition of transparency and cause our readers to question the integrity of this organization, prompting the departure of some of our most prominent colleagues, and threatening many more. I am concerned about the impending retirement.”
The letter, signed by many of the paper's remaining star journalists, said the issue was beyond support and acknowledged that support was an “owner's prerogative.”
“This is aimed at regaining competitiveness, restoring lost trust and re-establishing relationships with leadership based on open communication,” the letter said.
Employees are protesting Will Lewis' appointment as CEO. The former publisher of the Wall Street Journal is trying to push the left-leaning magazine more centrist, especially after the resignation of Pulizer Prize-winning cartoonist Anne Tenaes over scrapped illustrations. As a result, journalists were banned from reporting on the paper.
She mocked Bezos and other tech titans for kneeling to President-elect Donald Trump.
The letter “urged” the Amazon founder to continue coming to his office to meet with Post executives and report on what was going on.
“We understand the need for change and want to deliver news in innovative ways. But we need a clear vision to believe in,” they wrote. , added that he remains committed to accountable journalism and will pursue his stories “without fear or favor.”
The letter concludes, “As you wrote when you first became the Post's owner in 2013, 'there is no need to change the Post's values.'” To reaffirm those values. We strongly encourage you to stand with us. ”
The Washington Post declined to comment.
A representative for Bezos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Since Mr. Lewis took the helm last summer, executives have ousted the paper's first female editor, Sally Buzbee, and bluntly told reporters in an internal meeting that “people aren't reading your stories.”
At the time, Lewis told staff the paper would lose $77 million in 2023 and its digital subscriber base had declined significantly since 2020.
The site had 54 million digital visitors in November, less than half of the 114 million in November 2020, according to ComScore data.
The newspaper laid off about 100 employees in its business division earlier this month.
In recent weeks, political correspondents Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, White House correspondent Tyler Pager and investigative reporter Josh Dorsey have left for other news organizations.
Three members of the Opinion section, David Hoffman, Molly Roberts and Robert Kagan, resigned after deciding not to endorse any candidate for the first time in decades.
