More than 400 newsroom staffers at the Washington Post pleaded with the paper’s owner, Jeff Bezos, this week to do something about their beloved paper’s rapid – and very public – decline.
“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,” an extraordinary letter to Bezos read in part, as first reported by NPR’s David Folkenflik. It was signed by some of the Post’s most respected names, including the investigative reporter Carol Leonnig and the unofficial dean of DC politics writers Dan Balz.
I feel their pain and join their cause. I was proud to work at the Washington Post for six years, until 2022, as the paper’s media columnist. My ties to the paper go back much further; it was the Post’s Watergate reporting that piqued my interest, as a teenager, in journalism and (along with a whole generation of other young people) drew me into a lifelong career. I know and admire many reporters, editors, photographers, videographers, designers and others at the paper, and doubt I’ll ever give up my subscription.
Bezos needs to do something, given the loss of an estimated 300,000 subscribers, which followed his late-minute decision to kill a planned endorsement of Kamala Harris, and the exodus of so many talented journalists. The most recent is Peter Wallsten, head of investigations, who has been involved in several Pulitzer-winning projects: he is headed to the New York Times, where he’ll join his former colleague, the high-ranking editor Matea Gold, who was passed over for top editor recently. Josh Dawsey, a prolific reporter whose politics coverage has often dominated the front page, is moving to the Wall Street Journal. The Atlantic magazine, meanwhile, is gorging on disheartened Posties like a moviegoer with an oversized bucket of popcorn.
To stay viable, the Post needs to retain, not lose, its talent. It also needs to make clearly stated amends to its readers who have lost faith in this important American institution.
When I was at the Post, the renowned editor Marty Baron was the editor. The paper was competing daily for scoops and investigative heft with their biggest rival, jokingly referred to as Brand X, the New York Times. Both papers were doing indispensable accountability journalism on Trump.
Can that continue now at the Post? It’s not unreasonable to question that.
Bezos may not care. The billionaire who bought the paper for $250m in 2013 has been in supplication mode to Donald Trump for months. One of the world’s richest individuals, Bezos seems more interested in palling around with the likes of fellow billionaire Elon Musk.
But let’s say he does care, for reasons that may span the spectrum from preserving his own place in history to defending press rights to improving the Post’s red-drenched bottom line.
What could he do, immediately, to stem the bleeding?
First, he should show up – soon – to hold a town hall with the newsroom, answer questions and take the heat. Do it on the record.
Posties, I suspect, would be tough but respectful. His mere presence, signaling that he’s heard the complaints and cares enough to respond, would go a long way internally.
Second, he should clearly state – publicly – that he understands the importance of editorial freedom and pledge not to interfere with it. And he should communicate that he gets the importance of the Post’s history and mission, and that he will support it.
Third, he should dump his handpicked publisher, Will Lewis, from whom many of these problems originate. Lewis, a British journalist who hails from the world of Rupert Murdoch, is far from a paragon of journalistic excellence or good judgment. His appointment has been rejected by the body of the Post (and, eventually, by its readers); to put it mildly, the graft didn’t take. Recognizing that, and immediately beginning a search for a more suitable replacement, would be a huge – and essential – step in the right direction.
All of this should be transparent to the public, in keeping with how the Post has conducted itself for many years. It’s a core value.
Bezos said publicly not long ago that he had saved the Post once (meaning when he bought the financially troubled paper) and intended to do so again. I don’t think he meant salvaging its journalistic reputation from wounds he himself has helped to inflict, but rather returning the company to profitability through advances in technology.
Nevertheless, it’s a worthy aim. For the sake of American journalism, for the Post’s readers and its staff, and for democracy itself, I sure hope he finds a way to do it.
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Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture
This post was originally published on here
