On The Washington Post

I love the Washington Post. I have been a subscriber for many years, reading it cover to cover for much of that time. The Post’s coverage has enriched my life, and its reporting has been indispensable to my work as an elected leader and policymaker more times than I can count. I think I speak for many in our region when I say it is heartbreaking to watch Jeff Bezos run the Washington Post into the ground.

Two new media trends have reshaped national American journalism over the past year. One is the relentless geyser of news driven by an authoritarian president and his administration, which expands consumption of political reporting but also shapes coverage of the economy, global affairs, health, technology, environment, local communities, and so much more. Competitors of the Post, including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, have been successful in this environment.

But this trend has been accompanied by another: a trend of media companies and other key institutions of civil society responding to Donald Trump’s efforts to bully and intimidate them by knuckling under, sucking up, and appeasing him. Over the past year we’ve seen media outlets try to protect the business interests and personal wealth of their billionaire owners by weakening or censoring journalism critical of Trump or his allies. This pervasive cowardice is deeply harmful to our country, and Jeff Bezos has been one of its chief practitioners.

I don’t know whether investing tens of millions of dollars in a puff piece documentary about the First Lady is a savvy business move, but I know that Bezos’ well publicized meddling in and censorship of the Post’s editorial pages cost the paper hundreds of thousands of subscriptions. I strongly suspect that his decision to gut the Post’s staff rather than investing a tiny fraction of his vast personal wealth into growing it will deepen its financial problems, not improve them. Many readers who lose coverage of local issues and sports teams - the reason many subscribed to begin with – will respond by cancelling their subscriptions.

The Washington Post is deeply important to our region. Instead of hiding in silence while he slowly kills one of the best newspapers in the country, Jeff Bezos should show the Post’s readers and employees basic respect by taking honest responsibility for his actions. Mr. Bezos has the wealth and resources to make the Post better than it is, but if he is unwilling to invest in his own newsroom or afraid of the risk associated with vibrant, critical journalism, I urge him to consider selling the Washington Post to someone who will be a better steward of this beloved and essential institution.

My heart goes out to those who are losing their jobs today, along with my thanks for helping keep my constituents informed about their community. Your work has not been in vain.