Free Republic

Soon after Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, acquired The Washington Post for $250 million in 2013, he assured its editors and reporters — myself included — that he would give us the freedom to do our jobs and “follow the story” without interference from him. At a 2016 Washington Post tech forum with Marty Baron, who was then executive editor, Bezos quoted a phrase he had heard from the legendary Watergate reporter Bob Woodward: “Democracy dies in darkness.” It was a perfect motto to advertise the mission of one of America’s most storied and respected news organizations — a...

We've often documented Joe Scarborough's hypocrisy, most recently here. But even hyper-hypocrite Scarborough outdid himself this morning. Scarborough whined about Jeff Bezos announcing that henceforth, the editorial policy of the Washington Post, which he owns, will focus on personal liberties and free markets, with no opposing viewpoints published. Said Scarborough: "Most of us, when we saw this, we just said, what the hell? It is it's like something that we've never heard. I mean, it's obviously opinion pages can go their own direction, but to say we don't publish opposing viewpoints seems shocking at best."If ever there were a TV...

Amazon founder and owner of the Washington Post Jeff Bezos announced Wednesday that change is coming to the paper’s opinion pages. Going forward, they will be supporting and defending the “two pillars” that are “right for America,” “personal liberties and free markets.” It was helpful for those who oppose the change to identify themselves as enemies of personal liberties and free markets. Bezos also said that “viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.” “A big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes...

Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, announced that he would be taking the storied newspaper in a new direction that had compelled his editorial page editor to resign in a stunning statement released on Wednesday. “I shared this note with the Washington Post team this morning,” began Bezos on X before sharing the text of his address to employees: I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages. We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets....

Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos announced a dramatic ideological shift for his newspaper’s opinion section toward free markets, and staff are predictably having a nervous breakdown over it. Bezos stated on X that he notified Post staff of significant changes being made to the opinion section: “We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets.” In addition, said Bezos, “We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.” Bezos emphatically stated his confidence that “free markets and personal...

Amazon founder and owner of The Washington Post Jeff Bezos announced a new direction for the paper Wednesday morning as a reckoning among the media in a new Trump era continues. "I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages. We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others," Bezos wrote in a letter to Washington Post employees and posted on X. "There was...

PoliticsJUST IN: WaPo Reporters Melt Down, Rage Quit The Paper Over Bezos’ New DirectivePublished 2 hours ago on February 26, 2025By Mark Steffen The Washington Post’s chief opinion editor chose to pick up his ball and go home after Jeff Bezos handed down new instructions ordering his department to begin running pro-America, pro-freedom columns each morning. The Amazon founder and Post owner shared on social media on Wednesday morning a note he recently sent to all WaPo staff about the change. In it, Bezos explains that, each day, the paper’s opinion pages will write “in support and defense of” personal...

Jeff Bezos @JeffBezos I shared this note with the Washington Post team this morning: I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages. We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others. There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader’s doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion...

Current and former Washington Post staffers are rebelling against Jeff Bezos after he announced a “significant” editorial shift that will see the paper’s Opinion section focus almost exclusively on personal liberties and free markets. In a rare public announcement, Bezos, who owns the Post, on Wednesday shared that the paper’s editorial section would pivot to publish daily opinion stories “in support and defense of” the two “pillars,” emphasizing that while the section’s coverage would also include other subjects, “viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.” While the Post’s reporting is still considered top-notch, the paper...

Ezra Klein, an analyst, columnist and television commentator who runs The Washington Post’s Wonkblog, is making plans to leave the newspaper after failing to win support for a new website he wanted to create within the company, according to four people with knowledge of the negotiations. Mr. Klein, who quickly ascended into the ranks of the Washington media establishment with a multiplatform blend of policy nuance and number-crunching on Wonkblog, approached Katharine Weymouth, the Post’s publisher, in recent weeks, the people said. After consultation with the newspaper’s editor, Marty Baron, according to one of the people, he put forward a...

As new owner Jeff Bezos begins his tenure as the head man for the Washington Post, Wonkblog editor Ezra Klein is reportedly making plans to exit the paper after being denied funding for a pet project. Klein built a media presence on the Internet, newspapers, and TV as a "wonk" at a young age. Now, he apparently wants to expand his reach in the media with an extensive new website that he wanted the Washington Post to fund.

The Orange County Baron Flies AgainMarty Baron would be a fine choice to replace Howell Raines at the New York Times. He learned long ago that sometimes conservatives can be trusted.by Hugh Hewitt 06/19/2003 12:00:00 AM Hugh Hewitt, contributing writer NEWSWEEK'S media reporter Seth Mnookin handicapped the race for the job of New York Times executive editor last week, putting Los Angeles Times managing editor Dean Baquet as the 2-1 favorite, Bill Keller (runner-up to Howell Raines in the last go-round) in the second position at 3-1, and Boston Globe editor Marty Baron as a reasonable 5-1 shot. Baquet has...