Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washingtonpostsaid the newspaper’s decision to stop endorsing presidential candidates addresses a “credibility gap” plaguing the media industry.
“Most people believe the media is biased,” Bezos said in an essay published on the American channel After‘s website. “Anyone who does not see this has little attention for reality.”
Bezos also said the AfterTrump’s action was not related to former President Donald Trump’s meeting with executives from Blue Origin, another of his companies, on the day of the announcement.
“I sighed when I found out because I knew it would provide ammunition for those who want to see this as anything other than a decision of principle,” Bezos wrote.
The AfterThe paper’s publisher, William Lewis, announced on October 25 that the paper would no longer take sides in presidential races, something the paper has done regularly since 1978. The editors were prepared to support Trump’s Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The decision caused a storm of criticism, both inside and outside the newspaper. Several editors and writers resigned. As many as 200,000 subscribers, or 8% of the total, have been canceled, National Public Radio reports. A spokesperson for the After declined to comment.
Among those who criticized the decision were former ones After editor-in-chief Marty Baron, as well as Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the After reporters whose reporting on the Watergate scandal led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation.
In his essay, Bezos said presidential endorsements “do nothing to tip the balance of an election.” Instead, they “create a perception of bias.”
This allowed the space to be filled by social media posts and other unverified news sources. He urged readers to realize that changes like the approval decision are necessary.
“I also will not allow this article to remain on autopilot and become irrelevant – overtaken by unresearched podcasts and social media outlets – not without a fight,” Bezos wrote.