Jeff Bezos bans Washington Post opinion writers from opposing ‘ speech and markets’

In a move promoted arsenic supporting state of speech, The Washington Post will nary longer people sentiment columns that reason the halfway views of Post owner and Amazon executive chair Jeff Bezos, Bezos has reportedly told staff. New York Times newsman Benjamin Mullin and Semafor newsman Max Tani published specifications astir the move connected Wednesday, noting that changes besides see the departure of existent sentiment editor David Shipley. The memo from Bezos and different from Washington Post CEO Will Lewis were leaked during an Amazon event announcing caller features for its Alexa assistant.

“We are going to beryllium penning each time successful support and defense of 2 pillars: individual liberties and free markets,” Bezos wrote successful an email, according to a screenshot from Mullin. “A large portion of America’s occurrence has been state successful the economical realm and everyplace else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical; it drives creativity, invention and prosperity.” Opinion articles that reason these 2 pillars, Bezos says, “will beryllium near to beryllium published by others.” He concludes that “I’m assured that free markets and individual liberties are correct for America,” saying he is excited to capable a “void” of sum supporting them.

Lewis’ email praises Bezos for his email’s “clarity and transparency,” saying a replacement for Shipley will beryllium “announced successful owed course.”

Bezos acquired The Washington Post successful 2013, but he began shaping it much visibly soon earlier the 2024 statesmanlike election, erstwhile he reportedly nixed a planned endorsement of Democratic campaigner Kamala Harris. (The Post issued a denial that did not really contradict the reports.) While this was commercially detrimental to the paper, it avoided a move that could person incensed victorious Republican campaigner and existent President Donald Trump, who holds important powerfulness complete the destiny of Bezos’ e-commerce and aerospace endeavors, arsenic good arsenic its potential acquisition of TikTok. Lewis’ email tells labor that the caller displacement is “not astir siding pinch immoderate governmental party.”

Neither Lewis nor Bezos indicated location would beryllium changes to the Post’s news coverage, which is chopped from its sentiment section. Bezos besides says the sentiment conception will proceed to screen topics unrelated to his 2 pillars.

All news outlets, of course, person implicit aliases definitive boundaries for their sentiment sum — and free reside is simply a cardinal worth for galore journalists. It’s not moreover uncommon for sentiment writers to people stories that significantly conflict pinch their news reporting. But newspaper owners person traditionally allowed their editorial unit to make those decisions, successful portion to intelligibly found their independence. Bezos’ nonstop engagement raises questions astir really independent the Post is from an proprietor pinch galore different financial interests. In existent taste parlance, position for illustration “free speech” tin besides beryllium defined successful ways that see direct authorities regularisation of speech.

Fortunately, America is facing galore urgent and timely questions that fresh Bezos’ new, personally issued directive. Are awesome tech companies for illustration Amazon monopolies that distort adjacent marketplace competition, and should the US authorities pursue sweeping antitrust cases that could break them up? Will the management led by Trump, whose inauguration received a $1 cardinal Amazon aid and was attended prominently by Bezos, proceed attempts to censor media outlets by leveraging its regulatory powerfulness and access to information? The possibilities are astir endless.