Bezos
Orders Washington Post Opinion Section to Embrace ‘Personal Liberties and Free
Markets’
David
Shipley, The Post’s opinion editor, is resigning after trying to persuade Jeff
Bezos to reconsider the new direction.
David
Shipley, The Washington Post’s opinion editor, is stepping down amid a
narrowing of the section’s focus to defend “personal liberties and free
markets.
Benjamin
Mullin
By Benjamin
Mullin
Feb. 26,
2025
Jeff Bezos,
the owner of The Washington Post, announced a major shift to the newspaper’s
opinion section on Wednesday, saying it would now advocate “personal liberties
and free markets” and not publish opposing viewpoints on those topics.
Mr. Bezos
said the section’s editor, David Shipley, was leaving the paper in response to
the change.
“I am of
America and for America, and proud to be so,” Mr. Bezos said. “Our country did
not get here by being typical. And a big part of America’s success has been
freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it
minimizes coercion — and practical; it drives creativity, invention and
prosperity.”
In his note,
Mr. Bezos said that he had asked Mr. Shipley whether he wanted to stay at The
Post, and that Mr. Shipley had declined.
“I suggested
to him that if the answer wasn’t ‘hell yes,’ then it had to be ‘no,’” Mr. Bezos
wrote.
In a note to
the opinion staff, Mr. Shipley said he had decided to step down “after
reflection on how I can best move forward in the profession I love.”
“I will
always be thankful for the opportunity I was given to work alongside a team of
opinion journalists whose commitment to strong, innovative, reported commentary
inspired me every day,” Mr. Shipley wrote.
Mr. Bezos’
decision to curtail the scope of views on The Post’s opinion pages is a major
departure from the newspaper’s decades-long approach to commentary and
criticism. Under Mr. Shipley and his predecessor, Fred Hiatt, The Post has
published a wide variety of views from the left and the right, including
liberal stalwarts like David Ignatius and Ruth Marcus and conservative voices
like George Will and Charles Krauthammer.
The new
direction envisioned for The Post’s opinion section appears to be a rightward
shift for the paper. Mr. Bezos’ new focus echoes what has long been the
informal tagline of The Wall Street Journal’s conservative opinion pages: “Free
markets, free people.”
Will Lewis,
The Post’s chief executive, said in a memo to staff that changes to the opinion
section were “not about siding with any political party.”
“This is
about being crystal clear about what we stand for as a newspaper,” Mr. Lewis
wrote. “Doing this is a critical part of serving as a premier news publication
across America and for all Americans.”
In his note,
Mr. Lewis said that The Post would be naming a replacement for Mr. Shipley and
that he would make arrangements for an interim editor.
Matt Murray,
The Post’s executive editor, said in a memo to employees that the changes would
affect the opinion section only and not change the newsroom’s mission “to
pursue engaging, impactful journalism without fear or favor.”
The opinion
page’s change in direction was announced after a weekslong dialogue among Mr.
Bezos, Mr. Lewis and Mr. Shipley. In January, Mr. Lewis sent a memo to Mr.
Shipley summarizing Mr. Bezos’ new vision for the opinion section, according to
two people with knowledge of the discussions.
In response,
Mr. Shipley expressed reservations about Mr. Bezos’ new approach for a variety
of reasons, the people said. Among his misgivings: The Post’s ecumenical
approach to commentary made the coverage unique and valuable, and putting out a
daily section with quality writing on a narrower set of views could be
challenging.
In the weeks
leading up to his exit, Mr. Shipley suggested compromises to incorporate Mr.
Bezos’ approach but also ensure that The Post’s opinion section could still
publish a variety of viewpoints. In the end, Mr. Shipley told the owner of the
newspaper that he didn’t think Mr. Bezos’ decision was the right one for The
Post, or for him, according to the two people.
Wednesday’s
announcement led to immediate and public pushback from members of The Post’s
opinion and news staff. Jeff Stein, The Post’s chief economics reporter, called
it a “massive encroachment” on The Post’s opinion staff that made clear
“dissenting views will not be published or tolerated there.”
“I still
have not felt encroachment on my journalism on the news side of coverage, but
if Bezos tries interfering with the news side I will be quitting immediately
and letting you know,” Mr. Stein wrote on X.
The
discontent at The Post became clear during an emotional meeting held by Mr.
Shipley with the opinion staff Wednesday morning. Over the course of an hour,
Mr. Shipley fielded questions from his employees, who were shocked and stunned
at the sudden turn of events, according to two people with knowledge of the
talks.
During the
meeting, Mr. Shipley said he couldn’t tell employees what the future of The
Post’s opinion section would be for sure, adding that he was grateful to Mr.
Bezos for “being forthright.”
“A focused
report is the one that he thinks is the road to differentiation,” Mr. Shipley
said, according to the two people.
Mr.
Shipley’s departure is the latest in a series of destabilizing moves to rock
The Post in the past year. In October, after Mr. Bezos ended The Post’s
tradition of endorsing presidential candidates, several Post opinion staff
members decried the decision. Thousands of people canceled their subscriptions,
forcing The Post to adopt a “win-back” strategy to bring them back as paying
customers.
It was not
immediately clear how the abrupt changes would affect the current staff of the
opinion section, some of whom are known for espousing progressive views. Some
well-known liberal opinion journalists, including Jennifer Rubin, have already
left the newspaper in recent months. Ann Telnaes, The Post’s opinion
cartoonist, said she was quitting the newspaper in January after one of her
cartoons critical of Mr. Bezos was killed.
Mr. Shipley
is a veteran opinion editor with experience at organizations including The New
York Times and Bloomberg Opinion. Since he joined The Washington Post in 2022,
the newspaper has won two Pulitzer Prizes and two Loeb Awards.
Katie
Robertson contributed reporting.
Benjamin
Mullin reports on the major companies behind news and entertainment. Contact
him securely on Signal at +1 530-961-3223 or at benjamin.mullin@nytimes.com.
More about Benjamin Mullin
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