House Dem presses Bezos for transparency on Washington Post op-ed pivot
Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) pressed tech mogul Jeff Bezos for transparency on the Amazon founder's choice to switch up the editorial focus of The Washington Post’s opinion pages.
“Last week, @JeffBezos declared that the Washington Post's opinion page would only run pieces supporting ‘personal liberties’ and ‘the free market.’ In response, I submitted a letter to the editor asking Mr. Bezos to define his terms,” Casten said in a post on the social platform X on Wednesday.
“In light of WaPo’s refusal to respond, I’m releasing the letter and hope Mr. Bezos sheds more light on his directive. After all, democracy dies in darkness,” he added.
Bezos said in a note to Post staff last week that they “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,” he said.
The Post reportedly lost tens of thousands in subscribers in a seeming response to the move from Bezos. NPR reported last Friday, citing internal subscriber figures, that the paper’s digital subscriber count had dropped by 75,000 since the Bezos announcement about the opinion section.
Casten’s post on X also featured a screenshot of a letter to Bezos in which he pressed him on the Post opinion pages shift.
“In light of your recent announcement that the Washington Post opinion page will only publish articles that support personal liberty and free markets, I'd like to ask for a clarification: How do you define those terms?” Casten’s letter reads.
“Surely you don't mean the purely individual definition of personal liberty, where we are all free to do whatever we want,” he adds. “Our founders were more sophisticated than that, and after proclaiming our right to liberty as a self-evident truth, went on to create a representative democracy - not an anarchy.”
Turning to Bezos’s “free markets” comment, Casten later says Bezos most likely “would agree that a mobster's protection racket is not a free market, even if money is exchanged for services.”
“But what then do you make of a regulated utility monopoly that faces no competition but keeps the lights on in exchange for prices set by a local government agency?” he continued.
The Hill has reached out to the Post for comment.
-
Washington Post loses 75K subscribers after Bezos-ordered op-ed pivot
The Washington Post has reportedly lost tens of thousands of subscribers in an apparent reaction to a decision by the outlet's billionaire owner to change the editorial focus of its opinion pages. ...The Hill - 5d -
Bezos says Washington Post won't publish op-eds that oppose 'free markets and personal liberties'
Billionaire Jeff Bezos is retooling The Washington Post's opinion section to focus on "free markets and personal liberties," saying the newspaper he owns will no longer publish op-eds that are not ...The Hill - Feb. 26 -
Bezos focuses Washington Post opinion pages on ‘personal liberties’ and ‘free markets’
Billionaire owner says overhauled section will focus on ‘underserved’ viewpointsFinancial Times - Feb. 26 -
Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos makes changes to opinion page guidelines
Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos is implementing major changes to the outlet's opinion page, adjusting what columnists can and cannot write about. CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levinson breaks ...CBS News - 6d -
Washington Post opinion page to focus on 'personal liberties and free markets,' Jeff Bezos says
Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos said Wednesday that the paper’s opinion editor has “decided to step away” as the section takes a new direction focusing on “personal liberties and free markets.”NBC News - Feb. 26 -
Musk praises Bezos' new rules for Washington Post opinion pages as top editor resigns
Jeff Bezos said that Washington Post editorial page editor David Shipley decided to resign rather than lead the opinion section under the new policy.CNBC - Feb. 26 -
Jeff Bezos is muzzling the Washington Post’s opinion section. That’s a death knell | Margaret Sullivan
‘I couldn’t be more sad and disgusted,’ says former top editor Martin Baron. Owners and publishers of news organizations often exert their will on opinion sections. It would be naive to think ...The Guardian - Feb. 26 -
Jeff Bezos’ Directive for Washington Post Opinion Pages Leads to Editor David Shipley’s Exit
David Shipley, The Post’s opinion editor, is resigning after trying to persuade Jeff Bezos to reconsider the new direction.The New York Times - Feb. 26 -
Washington Post opinion editor departs as Bezos pushes to promote ‘personal liberties and free markets’
Opinion editor leaves as Amazon executive and newspaper owner says ‘viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others’. Don’t let a billionaire’s algorithm control what you ...The Guardian - Feb. 26
More from The Hill
-
Walz calls Trump address 'reality TV'
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) on Wednesday slammed President Trump’s address to Congress in an interview on CNN, referring to the speech as “reality TV.” “Look, it was what I expected, it was reality ...The Hill - 1h -
New Mexico Democrat says 'This is not normal' sign at Trump address was 'an SOS to the world'
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) said during an interview that her “This is not normal” sign she held up near President Trump right before his Tuesday night speech to Congress was an “SOS to the ...The Hill - 2h -
House Republicans gush over DOGE in meeting with Musk
Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk met with House Republicans Wednesday night to update them on work done by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), as the newly created group takes ...The Hill - 3h -
Is Social Security money going to 'millions' of people listed as old as 149?
Trump drew laughs during his congressional address Tuesday when he alleged that the Social Security Administration (SSA) had millions of beneficiaries listed at 140 years of age and older. But is ...The Hill - 3h -
GOP lawmaker holding town hall despite advice to avoid them: 'I trust my constituents'
Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) said Wednesday he’s holding a town hall despite House Republicans being recently pushed to avoid in-person town halls and do phone or livestreamed ones instead. “I'm ...The Hill - 3h
More in Politics
-
Walz calls Trump address 'reality TV'
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) on Wednesday slammed President Trump’s address to Congress in an interview on CNN, referring to the speech as “reality TV.” “Look, it was what I expected, it was reality ...The Hill - 1h -
New Mexico Democrat says 'This is not normal' sign at Trump address was 'an SOS to the world'
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) said during an interview that her “This is not normal” sign she held up near President Trump right before his Tuesday night speech to Congress was an “SOS to the ...The Hill - 2h -
House Republicans gush over DOGE in meeting with Musk
Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk met with House Republicans Wednesday night to update them on work done by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), as the newly created group takes ...The Hill - 3h -
Is Social Security money going to 'millions' of people listed as old as 149?
Trump drew laughs during his congressional address Tuesday when he alleged that the Social Security Administration (SSA) had millions of beneficiaries listed at 140 years of age and older. But is ...The Hill - 3h -
GOP lawmaker holding town hall despite advice to avoid them: 'I trust my constituents'
Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) said Wednesday he’s holding a town hall despite House Republicans being recently pushed to avoid in-person town halls and do phone or livestreamed ones instead. “I'm ...The Hill - 3h