Washington Post Union and Employees Protest Over Decision Not to Endorse Presidential Candidate, Blaming Bezos

Washington Post staffers are up in arms after Democracy Dies in Darkness announced it will not endorse any candidate in the 2024 presidential election.

Post publisher and CEO William Lewis announced Friday that the paper will not endorse a presidential candidate this year or in any future presidential election. “We’re going back to our roots when we didn’t support presidential candidates,” Lewis said.

Shortly after, the Washington Post Guild issued a strongly worded statement condemning the decision.

“We are deeply concerned that The Washington Post, America’s news organization in the nation’s capital, will decide to no longer endorse presidential candidates, especially just 11 days before a critical election. The role of the editorial board is to do just that: share opinions about news that impact our society and culture, and support candidates to help guide readers,” the Guild said.

The Washington Post announces it will not endorse her in the 2024 race or “in any future presidential election.”

“The message from our executive director, Will Lewis, rather than from the editorial board itself, raises our concerns that management was interfering with the work of editorial members,” the Guild continued. “According to our reporters and Guild members, Harris’ endorsement was already in the works and the decision not to publish was made by The Post owner Jeff Bezos.”

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The Guild added: “We are already seeing cancellations from once-loyal readers. This decision undermines the work of our members at a time when we should be building trust with our readers, not losing it.”

The guild posted a message with a link calling for action, saying: “Are you a Washington Post reader concerned about the Editorial Board’s decision today not to endorse a candidate this election cycle? Email CEO and Publisher Will Lewis and the Editorial Page. Editor David Shipley.”

Journal Editor-in-Chief Robert Kagan resigned due to the decisionand former executive editor Martin “Marty” Baron called it “cowardice.”

“This is cowardice to which democracy has fallen victim. @realdonaldtrump will take this as an invitation to further intimidate owner @jeffbezos (and others). Disturbing spinelessness in an institution known for its courage,” Baron wrote on X.

Washington Post columnist and assistant editor Karen Tumulty reposted Baron’s post.

Climate change reporter Brianna Sachs also retweeted Baron and wrote in response to news of the decision: “We won a Pulitzer Prize for public service for our coverage of the January 6th insurrection.”

A former senior Washington Post staffer also echoed Baron’s sentiments, calling the decision “reckless.”

“This is very disingenuous and leads to false equivalencies,” they told Fox News Digital. “It’s not, like, Kamala Harris versus Mitt Romney. It’s Kamala Harris versus whoever tried to disenfranchise the electorate last time.”

“And if you decide that it is not the editorial board’s job to approve, then don’t approve. Don’t approve of the Senate. Disapprove of the House of Representatives. Just don’t approve,” they continued. .

The former employee heard from upset former colleagues that they were “shocked” and “deeply disappointed” and said current employees felt the explanation was a “fig leaf”.

“I’ve heard they’re literally inundated with cancellations,” the source said.

They told Fox News Digital: “Until today, I have never honestly been ashamed of The Post. “The first mission of a newspaper is to tell the truth as close as it can be ascertained.” It’s from The Post’s Principles by Eugene Meyer. Today’s decision is a pathetic rejection of these principles.”

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A former Post employee warned that the resulting move could have a “chilling effect” on the newsroom.

“You know this is an editorial problem. In fact, there was a gap between church and state. But I know that there are people in the editorial office who have roots in the editorial office, and that is why it hurts,” they said. “And I think people in the newsroom are thinking, ‘If they killed advertising, can the news be left behind?’ And Lewis, of course, expressed his willingness to at least try it. If Trump wins, who in their right mind would want you covering this administration for The Post, constantly looking over your shoulder to see if the publisher or owner was going to do it. be annoyed. This move has a chilling effect on the mission of this place.”

Washington Post columnist Karen Attia reached out to X to berate her employer.

“Today was an absolute stab in the back. What an insult to those of us who have literally put our careers and lives on the line by speaking out about threats to human rights and democracy,” Attia wrote.

In The Post’s own news coverage in the Style section reported“The decision rattled many in the newsroom, which operates independently of The Post’s newsroom, a long tradition in American journalism designed to separate opinion writing from day-to-day news reporting.”

Health reporter Fenit Nirappil tweeted about the report: “Our news continues to be reported fearlessly. Even when it comes to our own bosses.”

He included images of two specific quotes:

A draft endorsement of Harris was drafted by Post editorial staff but has not yet been published, according to two sources briefed on the sequence of events who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Deciding not to speak out publicly. The publication was made by The Post’s owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, according to the same sources.”

“This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a victim. Donald Trump will take this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post owner Jeff Bezos (and other media owners),” Former Post executive editor Martin Baron, who led the paper while Trump was president, The Post said in a text message. “The story will be a troubling chapter of spinelessness in an institution known for its bravery.”

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This was reported by a source close to the management of the Washington Post. Fox News Digital that Bezos was not involved in this decision. However, a separate source spoke to Fox News Digital and thinks otherwise, citing The Post’s own reporting which claims the billionaire directly intervened.

“No endorsement would have made sense if it had been announced before the candidates were known. But coming 11 days before the election, it suggests Bezos is worried he’ll lose government contracts if Trump wins. So this signals that intimidation is working,” the expert said. A current Post employee spoke to Fox News Digital. “Trump certainly gave Bezos a hard time during his presidency, canceling a major cloud computing contract and screwing up an email contract with Amazon. So he knows how expensive a second term could be if Trump got angry at our coverage.”

The employee also said Baron is “considered a hero” for his X-post, adding that “he got the stakes right.”

As for the paper’s current boss, Lewis, a source said he has “lost the newsroom.”

“I wouldn’t believe a word Will Lewis or any of his people said,” the Fox News Digital employee said. “He lost his newsroom over the summer. He never shows up again. We receive weekly emails with hooray. That’s it. “He used to wander around the newsroom, but he obviously knows he’s not welcome here.”

A Post spokesman declined to comment further but reiterated that it was “the decision of the Washington Post.”

11 opinion columnists wrote a statement calling the decision a “terrible mistake.”

“The Washington Post’s decision not to endorse the president’s campaign is a terrible mistake. It represents a rejection of the fundamental editorial beliefs of the newspaper we love and for which we have worked for a total of 275 years. This is the moment for the institution to make clear its commitment to democratic values, the rule of law and international alliances, and the threat Donald Trump poses to them—precisely the points The Post made when supporting Trump’s opponents in 2016 and 2020.” They.

“There is no conflict between The Post’s important role as an independent newspaper and its practice of political advocacy, both as a guide to readers and as a statement of core beliefs. Never has this been more true than in the current campaign. The independent newspaper may someday refuse to support the president. But this is not the right time for one candidate to champion positions that directly threaten freedom of the press and the values ​​of the Constitution.”

It was signed by Perry Bacon Jr., E.J. Dionne Jr., Lee Hockstader, David Ignatius, Heather Long, Ruth Marcus, Dana Milbank, Katherine Rampell, Eugene Robinson, Jennifer Rubin and Karen Tumulty.

Message published Cartoonist Ann Telnaes’ image, titled “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” looked like strokes of black paint.

Famed Post Watergate reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein issued a statement saying, “We respect the traditional independence of the editorial page, but this decision, made 12 days before the 2024 presidential election, ignores the Washington Post’s overwhelming reporting on the threat posed by Donald Trump. Under Jeff Bezos’ leadership, the Washington Post’s news division has used its vast resources to thoroughly investigate the danger and damage that a second Trump presidency could cause to the future of American democracy, which makes this decision all the more surprising and disappointing, especially this one. late in the electoral process.”

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In the political world, former Biden adviser Susan Rice wrote several posts expressing her outrage.

“As a Washington native and lifelong Post subscriber, I am disgusted. You lost us,” she wrote, then added: “So much for Democracy Dies in Darkness.” This is the most hypocritical chicken.” –) abandon a publication that should hold people in power accountable.”

In response to a post by a Washington Post editorial board member criticizing the decision, she said, “What are they going to do about it? The entire Post editorial team must go.”

“This is the essence of oligarchy. Jeff Bezos, the world’s second richest man and owner of the Washington Post, is ignoring his editorial board and refusing to support Kamala. Apparently he’s afraid of displeasing Trump and losing federal contracts to Amazon. Pathetic,” wrote Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

This article will be updated as new responses come in…

Original article source: Washington Post Union and Employees Protest Over Decision Not to Endorse Presidential Candidate, Blaming Bezos