LIBS TRIGGERED: Bezos announces big change at Washington Post, liberal staffers are fuming

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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns the liberal newspaper, The Washington Post, announced Wednesday morning that he is implementing some major changes in the newspaper, and the liberal staffers are not too happy about it.

Bezos, 61, a billionaire, appears to be trying to pull the liberal paper more to the middle, perhaps in an effort to stay on good terms with President Trump.  Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Bezos announced that the Washington Post would stay neutral and not issue an endorsement in the race, much to the dismay of the Post’s editorial staff, who was prepared to endorse Kamala Harris.

After President Trump’s election victory, Bezos made a $1 million donation to Trump’s inaugural fund, visited him at Mar-a-Lago, and attended the inauguration.

Bezos posted the following announcement Wednesday morning:

I shared this note with the Washington Post team this morning:

I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages.

We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.

There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader’s doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views. Today, the internet does that job.

I am of America and for America, and proud to be so. Our country did not get here by being typical. And a big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical — it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity.

I offered David Shipley, whom I greatly admire, the opportunity to lead this new chapter. I suggested to him that if the answer wasn’t “hell yes,” then it had to be “no.” After careful consideration, David decided to step away. This is a significant shift, it won’t be easy, and it will require 100% commitment — I respect his decision. We’ll be searching for a new Opinion Editor to own this new direction.

I’m confident that free markets and personal liberties are right for America. I also believe these viewpoints are underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion. I’m excited for us together to fill that void.

Jeff

Washington Post national columnist Philip Bump erupted, writing, “what the actual f**k.”

Washington Post editor Matt Murray announced that Bezo’s order was only for the Opinion, and did not apply to the main newspaper, which, he declared, was not changing.

Jeff Stein, the chief economics reporter at the Post fumed, “Massive encroachment by Jeff Bezos into The Washington Post’s opinion section today – makes clear dissenting views will not be published or tolerated there. I still have not felt encroachment on my journalism on the news side of coverage, but if Bezos tries interfering with the news side I will be quitting immediately and letting you know.”

Dave Jorgenson added, “Echoing Jeff (Stein), if Bezos interferes with my work on the news side – I’m out.”

Echoing Jeff (Stein), if Bezos interferes with my work on the news side – I’m out.

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— Dave Jorgenson (@davejorgenson.bsky.social) February 26, 2025 at 10:11 AM

Washington Post journalist Dan Lamothe suggested he might need to be thinking about a Plan B.

My colleagues and I have been working to break news + write stories holding powerful people accountable.

These are the top stories on our homepage right now, one of which I worked on.

Our newsroom work is continuing.

No one has ever told me what to write. If that changes, I’d speak out and leave.

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— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond.bsky.social) February 26, 2025 at 11:06 AM

“Canceled my @washingtonpost subscription today. Enough is enough with
@JeffBezos,” declared X user Doug Haddix.

Another liberal subscriber declared she’s cancelling out as well.

Conservatives have also weighed in:

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