Jessica Yellin Instagram – For decades, The Washington Post has been known for holding power to account. From publishing the pentagon papers and exposing the Watergate break in in the Nixon presidency. Jeff Bezos, its current owner, seems to be turning the page
Bezos. exerting more control over The Washington Post opinion section, sent a memo to staff this morning and said on X that views opposing free markets and personal liberties mentioned will be “left to be published by others.”
Bezos asked opinion editor David Shipley if he wanted to stay — and if the answer wasn’t “hell yes” it had to be “no.” Shipley decided to step down.
CEO Will Lewis told staff the changes are “not about siding with any political party,” but rather are being “crystal clear” as to what the newspaper stands for. But make no mistake, this is a rightward shift for The Post’s opinion section. The NY Times notes it echoes the informal tagline of the Wall Street Journal’s conservative opinion pages – free markets, free people.
The move has been criticized by Democrat Rep. Don Beyer who asked Bezos to remember his words when he bought the paper in 2013: “The values of The Post do not need changing. The duty of the paper is to the readers, not the owners.” | Posted on 27/Feb/2025 01:56:56
