2024-10-26 07:10:04
Topline
Jeff Bezos made the decision to block the Washington Post editorial board’s planned endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, unnamed sources told Washington Post reporters, making Bezos the second billionaire newspaper owner this week to blindside staff by killing a Harris endorsement.
The paper has consistently offered presidential endorsements since 1976. (Photo by ERIC BARADAT/AFP … [+]
Key Facts
The Post said its sources who claimed Bezos killed the endorsement were briefed on the sequence of events before the paper announced it wouldn’t endorse a candidate Friday morning.
The Post’s publisher and chief executive officer, William Lewis, announced Friday the paper is “returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates,” the first time the paper declined to endorse since 1988.
Lewis preemptively denied accusations that the lack of endorsement is a “tacit endorsement of one candidate” or a “condemnation of another,” stating he supports readers making their own decisions.
Columbia Journalism Review reported, citing an unnamed Post staffer, the Post’s editorial board had drafted an endorsement of Harris with support from editorial page editor David Shipley before it was killed by Lewis, which “stunned” both the news and opinion journalists.
Robert Kagan, an editor-at-large for the Post, resigned from the paper over its refusal to endorse, CNN reported.
What Happened At The Los Angeles Times?
Mariel Garza, who was until days ago the Los Angeles Times’ editorials editor, said she resigned from her post in protest after the paper’s owner, billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, blocked an endorsement the editorial board had planned to make for Harris. Soon-Shiong appeared to push back in a social media post, in which he claimed the editorial board was asked to “draft a factual analysis of all the POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE policies by EACH candidate” so readers could make an informed decision, but claimed the board did not follow through. Editorial board members Robert Greene, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and Karin Klein also resigned in protest, with both citing their disappointment over the blocked endorsement.
Chief Critics
Former Washington Post executive editor Martin Baron called the paper’s decision “cowardice” and said former President Donald Trump would see it as an “invitation to further intimidate” Bezos. Karen Attiah, a Post columnist, called the decision an “absolute stab in the back” and an “insult to those of us who have literally put our careers and lives on the line, to call out threats to human rights and democracy.” Robert McCartney, a former Washington Post columnist and editor who spent nearly four decades at the paper, slammed the decision to not endorse: “Given the choice this year, it’s appalling.” The Washington Post Guild, the labor union that represents Post staffers, said in a statement it is “concerned that management interfered with the work of our members in Editorial” and criticized the company for alienating readers. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called Bezos’ decision an example of “oligarchy,” alleging he is “afraid of antagonizing Trump and losing Amazon’s federal contracts.”
Forbes Valuation
Forbes estimates Bezos is the third-richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $206.2 billion as of Friday afternoon. In addition to owning the Post, Bezos owns slightly less than 10% of Amazon, which he resigned as CEO of in 2021 but remains executive chairman of. Soon-Shiong is worth $7.6 billion, according to Forbes estimates. Soon-Shiong, who is a medical doctor, invented the Abraxane cancer drug and owns the NantWorks network of healthcare startups.
Tangent
The refusal to make an endorsement comes as the presidential race appears increasingly neck-and-neck as most polls show an essentially tied race between Harris and Trump, including a deadlocked 48%-48% poll among likely voters released Friday by the New York Times.
Further Reading
On political endorsement (The Washington Post)
