Greater than 400 Washington Submit journalists despatched an offended letter on Wednesday to proprietor Jeff Bezos, pleading with him to intervene on the paper’s course to revive the “trust that has been lost.”
The transfer comes because the Beltway broadsheet has seen a revolving door of distinguished journalists head for the exits after Bezos intervened to cease the outlet from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris within the 2024 presidential election.
Bezos defended the choice in an op-ed for the paper, which noticed almost 300,000 readers cancel their subscriptions within the days after the endorsement was killed.
“You recently wrote that ensuring the long-term success and editorial independence of this newspaper is essential. We agree, and we believe you take as much pride in The Washington Post as we do,” the letter started.
“We are deeply alarmed by recent leadership decisions that have led readers to question the integrity of this institution, broken with a tradition of transparency, and prompted some of our most distinguished colleagues to leave, with more departures imminent.”
The letter, signed by most of the paper’s remaining star journalists, went on to notice that the problems transcend the endorsement, which they acknowledged was the “owner’s prerogative.”
“This is about regaining our competitive edge, restoring trust that has been lost, and reestablishing a relationship with leadership based on open communication,” the letter mentioned.
Staffers have rebelled in opposition to the appointment of Will Lewis as CEO. The previous writer of the Wall Avenue Journal has tried to push the left-leaning publication extra to the center and has barred its journalists from reporting on the paper — particularly after Pulizer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Tenaes give up over an illustration that was scrapped.
She had lampooned Bezos and different tech titans for bending the knee to President-elect Donald Trump.
The letter “urged” the Amazon founder to come back to the workplace and meet with Submit leaders as he has previously for a debrief about what has been happening.
“We understand the need for change and we are eager to deliver the news in innovative ways. But we need a clear vision we can believe in,” they wrote, earlier than including that they’re nonetheless dedicated to journalism that holds energy to account and pursuing tales “without fear or favor.”
The letter concluded: “As you wrote when you first became The Post’s owner in 2013, ‘The values of The Post do not need changing.’ We urge you to stand with us in reaffirming those values.”
The Washington Submit declined to remark.
Reps for Bezos didn’t instantly return requests for remark.
Since Lewis took the helm final summer season, the exec pushed out Sally Buzbee, the paper’s first feminine editor and bluntly instructed journalists in an inside assembly: “People are not reading your stuff.”
On the time, Lewis instructed staffers that the paper misplaced $77 million in 2023 and that its digital subscriber base fell off significantly since 2020.
In November, the positioning introduced in 54 million digital guests, lower than half the 114 million it reeled in on November 2020, in response to Comscore information.
Earlier this month, the paper laid off roughly 100 staffers in its enterprise divisions.
In latest weeks, political correspondents Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, in addition to White Home correspondent Tyler Pager and investigative reporter Josh Dawsey, decamped for different shops.
Three Opinions part members — David Hoffman, Molly Roberts and Robert Kagan — give up following the choice to not endorse any candidate for the primary time in a long time.
