The Killing of The Post
Jeff Bezos and legacy media cowardice continue enabling Trump; slashing staff and betraying what was once a global institution
I want to say a word about the savage cuts to the Washington Post announced today. The Post, which achieved greatness during the Watergate era, was bludgeoned today with massive layoffs, shutting down its sports section, and eviscerating Metro and Foreign news sections.
Former executive editor Marty Baron mourned one of “the darkest days in the history of one of world’s greatest news organizations.” The Post Guild put out a statement that read:
As we’ve seen in recent years, continuing to eliminate scores of workers who make this storied institution what it is only stands to weaken the newspaper, drive away readers and undercut The Post’s mission: to hold power to account without fear or favor and provide critical insight into communities across the region, country and world.
If Jeff Bezos no longer supports that mission, then The Post and its readers deserve a steward who does.
The layoffs are solely the responsibility of inept, incompetent, and inattentive ownership and management. It inherited a great American paper and left it in the rubble, putting hundreds of talented journalists out on the street.
When I left the Post to found The Contrarian roughly 13 months ago, I expressed my dismay, disappointment, and disgust for Bezos’s refusal to treat the ownership of The Post as a sacred mission. I also raised instances of legacy media cowardice that were enabling Donald Trump.
Since then, Bezos’s betrayal of The Post’s legacy has only deepened, and the capitulation of the legacy media—highlighted by the installment of right-wing sycophant and unqualified Bari Weiss to run CBS News—has sadly borne out my concerns about corporate and billionaire-owned media failure. More than ever, we need a vibrant, free, and unafraid independent press that speaks the unvarnished truth about the rise of fascism and points the finger at Trump enablers in law firms, finance, media, and the Republican Party.
The Contrarian deeply appreciates your support and will continue to do our utmost to defend and advance the cause of democracy. We take our responsibility seriously and are humbled by your ongoing support.
Jennifer, was Bezos purchase of the WPOST the ultimate "catch and kill" all along? Was the point in buying it to diminish it so that it would not be the "check and balance" on the political/financial/industry elites? I am so angry about all of this. Katherine Graham must be rolling over in her grave. It has been so dismaying to see media outlets fall into the hands of a very small number of oligarchs.
Seeing the Post destroyed is a source of true grief. It embodied one of the great strengths of American culture, and now it lies in ruins. I maintain my subscription solely so that I can read Carolyn Hax, and I wish every day that she would jump ship to the Atlantic or another place that would welcome her. I respect her loyalty, but it’s embarrassing now to reveal that I have a WaPo subscription. It used to be a small source of pride.