More than 400 Washington Post journalists sent an angry letter Wednesday to owner Jeff Bezos, begging him to intervene in the newspaper’s management to restore “the trust that has been lost.”
The move comes as the Beltway broadsheet has seen a revolving door of prominent journalists heading for the exits after Bezos stepped in to stop the media from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Bezos defended the decision in an op-ed for the newspaper, where about 300,000 readers canceled their subscriptions in the days after the approval was killed.
“You recently wrote that guaranteeing the long-term success and editorial independence of this newspaper is essential. We agree and trust that you are as proud of The Washington Post as we are,” the letter began.
“We are deeply alarmed by recent leadership decisions that have led readers to question the integrity of this institution, broken with the tradition of transparency, and have led some of our most prominent colleagues to leave, with other departures close.”
The letter, signed by many of the paper’s remaining journalists, went on to note that the issues go beyond approval, which they acknowledged was “the owner’s prerogative”.
“This is about regaining our competitive edge, restoring lost trust and restoring a relationship with leadership based on open communication,” the letter said.
Employees have rebelled against the appointment of Will Lewis as CEO. The former publisher of the Wall Street Journal has tried to push the left-of-center publication and barred its reporters from reporting at the paper — especially after Pulizer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Tenaes resigned over an illustration that was canceled.
She had slammed Bezos and other tech titans for bending the knee to President-elect Donald Trump.
The letter “asked” the Amazon founder to come to the office and meet with Postal executives, as he has done in the past for an overview of what happened.
“We understand the need for change and are eager to deliver the news in innovative ways. But we need a clear vision we can believe in,” they wrote, before adding that they remain committed to journalism that holds the power to count and pursue stories “without fear or favor.”
The letter concluded: “As you wrote when you became the Post’s owner in 2013, ‘The Post’s values do not need to change.’ We call on you to stand with us in reaffirming these values.”
The Washington Post declined to comment.
Representatives for Bezos did not immediately return requests for comment.
Since Lewis took over last summer, the executive fired Sally Buzbee, the paper’s first female editor, and bluntly told reporters in an internal meeting: “People aren’t reading your stuff.”
At the time, Lewis told staff that the paper lost $77 million in 2023 and that its digital subscriber base declined significantly from 2020.
In November, the site brought in 54 million digital visitors, less than half of the 114 million it had in November 2020, according to Comscore data.
Earlier this month, the newspaper laid off about 100 employees in its business divisions.
In recent weeks, political correspondents Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, as well as White House correspondent Tyler Pager and investigative reporter Josh Dawsey, left for other outlets.
The members of the Three Opinions section – David Hoffman, Molly Roberts and Robert Kagan – resigned after the decision not to endorse a candidate for the first time in decades.
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