Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of The Washington Post, is under renewed scrutiny regarding his role in the newspaper's ongoing struggles, a dozen years after he acquired it.
The magnate's stewardship of the renowned publication has been called into question, with critics suggesting that his lack of engagement may be contributing to its current predicaments.
According to Fox News, Bezos was the focus of an extensive article published in The New Yorker on Monday, provocatively titled, "Is Jeff Bezos selling out the Washington Post?" The piece traced the trajectory of The Post under Bezos' ownership, starting from his $250 million acquisition of the paper from the Graham family in 2013. It highlighted the leadership transitions from Marty Baron to Sally Buzbee and now interim executive editor Matt Murray, and revisited several newsroom controversies over the years. The article also noted Bezos' seemingly cordial relationship with President Donald Trump since the election.
A Post journalist, quoted in the New Yorker piece, described Bezos as "out of touch" during one-on-one meetings with a group of the paper's reporters in January 2023. "He is isolated, and he hasnt done the work to engage and be a hands-on owner," the journalist told Clare Malone of The New Yorker. "If you are going to own a media property right now, you need to be all in and understand the landscape."
A significant controversy during Bezos' tenure was his decision to veto the paper's planned endorsement of Kamala Harris just weeks before the 2024 election. "The non-endorsement shook a lot of people because it was done in such a ham-handed fashion and that was all Bezos," a Post staffer told Fox News Digital. "No one would have cared if hed announced the policy two years earlier." The decision led to resignations and over 250,000 canceled subscriptions from disgruntled liberal readers. The long-term impact of this move on The Post's recovery remains uncertain.
In the aftermath, The Post has experienced an unprecedented departure of its top talent. Notable figures such as national editor Philip Rucker, managing editor Matea Gold, and top reporters Josh Dawsey, Ashley Parker, and Michael Scherer have all left for other media outlets. Last week, Post reporter Aaron Blake was recruited by Rucker, now serving as CNN's senior vice president of editorial strategy and news. "Aaron is a real loss but a smart move by Rucker -- CNN will make him a star," the Post staffer told Fox News Digital.
Several employees, including columnists Jannifer Rubin and Eugene Robinson, left in protest of Bezos' leadership. Cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned after her superiors refused to publish a cartoon depicting Bezos and others groveling at the feet of then-President-elect Trump. Telnaes was awarded a Pulitzer Prize last week for her "piercing commentary on powerful people and institutions."
David Shipley, Post opinion editor, stepped down after Bezos demanded columns regularly defending "personal liberties and free markets" and prohibiting opposing viewpoints. Veteran Post columnist Ruth Marcus also resigned after her piece criticizing Bezos' policy was suppressed. Bezos' actions reportedly cost the paper another 250,000 paid subscribers.
Despite the current challenges, a Post staffer who spoke with Fox News Digital expressed optimism, citing the two Pulitzer Prizes the paper won last week and the various scoops it has landed while covering the Trump administration. The insider also credited Bezos for doubling the size of the paper's staff and the resources the billionaire owner has provided, calling it "huge."
"I have nothing but thanks and gratitude for Bezos and how he rescued a paper that was spiraling down and probably wouldve been a shadow now, if not gone," the Post staffer told Fox News Digital. "I blame him for being an absent owner and letting [former Post publisher) Fred Ryan fail to capitalize on the big boost in circulation we got in Trumps first term. Lewis is failing fast, but Bezos again seems too distracted to notice."
The staffer added, "You have to keep in mind how bad things were when Bezos bought The Post. We were rock bottom. We havent fallen that far yet."
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