Former Washington Post Employee Critiques Jeff Bezos’ Leadership
A former employee of the Washington Post has sharply criticized owner Jeff Bezos, suggesting that he prioritizes his own interests over the paper’s integrity during these tumultuous times under Donald Trump.
In a recently published piece titled “The Billionaire’s Surrender,” Glenn Kessler, a former fact-checker at the Post, emphasized Bezos’ staggering growth in wealth—he was worth $25 billion in 2013 when he purchased the paper, and his net worth stands around $250 billion today, amidst looming layoffs in the newsroom.
“I get it—Mr. Bezos is a businessman, and the Washington Post doesn’t operate as a charity. There’s this expectation for newsrooms to be financially viable,” Kessler expressed on his Substack. “Yet, even with potential losses estimated at $100 million a year for someone of Bezos’ wealth, that would only mean he could keep the paper running for, like, another 2,500 years.”
Kessler continued, “The layoffs seem less about cost-cutting and more about power dynamics related to Trump’s influence.” He recounted a meeting with Bezos shortly after the 2016 election, where Bezos expressed concern about Trump’s possible retaliatory actions against negative media coverage.
“Bezos acknowledged Trump’s tendency to assume that any critical coverage is orchestrated by him, since, theoretically, Trump would act that way if he owned a paper,” Kessler noted. “But Bezos felt the task was simply to produce quality journalism, asking, ‘If Trump gets upset, he can manage it.'”
Reflecting on past interactions, Kessler remarked that Bezos had typically refrained from interfering with news reporting during his ownership, maintaining a level of detachment from editorial decisions, which, according to Kessler, had been reassuring.
Despite Trump’s open disdain for the Post, Kessler argued that Bezos remained steadfast, even expanding the team’s capacity during Trump’s first term, embodying a sense of responsibility toward public trust.
However, he noted the shift in Bezos’ calculus with the specter of another Trump term, stating that “while Trump’s loss in 2020 eased immediate pressure, the current political climate isn’t favorable for tech moguls.” With the Democratic Party reportedly struggling, Kessler implied Bezos’ relevance was being reconsidered.
He added, “Billionaires assumed they were untouchable, but as Trump’s influence grew, the stakes became too high.” Kessler observed that Bezos, seemingly disengaged from the Post’s operations, had been distracted by personal life changes, such as his marriage to Lauren Sanchez.
“The decision to lay off staff is consequential. It jeopardizes the livelihoods of many skilled journalists,” Kessler pointed out, suggesting that Bezos’ actions were aimed at gaining favor with Trump, referencing Amazon’s monetary contributions during Trump’s inauguration and Bezos’ high-profile visit to Mar-a-Lago.
Meanwhile, concerns are mounting among Washington Post staff about imminent layoffs that might ensue, with reports indicating that hundreds could be affected, particularly in areas like sports and international affairs.
The backdrop to all this includes Bezos’ abrupt cancellation of the paper’s endorsement of Kamala Harris, which reignited widespread discontent among employees after an editorial board labeled Trump as a poor leader—an act that ultimately hurt membership and prompted mass resignations.
Further aggravating the situation, Bezos hinted at a reworking of the editorial page aimed at emphasizing “free markets and individual freedoms,” which was met with backlash.
