USA Bezos defends his newspaper's decision not to endorse the election
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post, has defended the renowned US newspaper's decision not to make an election endorsement in the final spurt of the race for the White House.
29.10.2024, 02:56
SDA
In an opinion piece, the multi-billionaire justified the controversial move primarily on the grounds of the American public's declining trust in the media. The broadcaster NPR had previously reported that more than 200,000 readers of the long-established newspaper had canceled their subscriptions following the decision.
Bezos assured that he was not pursuing any personal interests with the "Washington Post". Rather, the reality is that many people consider the media to be biased. "And if you fight reality, you lose." He would not allow the "Washington Post" to sink into insignificance and people to inform themselves via poorly researched podcasts and social media posts instead. In any case, election recommendations from the media would not persuade anyone to vote for a particular candidate. However, he conceded that the controversial decision was made in the final phase of the election campaign was "poor planning".
The Washington Post announced on Friday that it would not be making an endorsement of either Democrat Kamala Harris or her Republican rival Donald Trump ahead of the presidential election on November 5. It will also refrain from doing so in future elections. Reporters from the newspaper then reported that an endorsement had already been written for the current Vice President Harris - but Bezos had decided against publishing it. The Washington Post's journalists' representative expressed concern that management appeared to have interfered in editorial matters.
Trump's anger can damage Bezos' companies
Although Bezos no longer runs Amazon himself, his fortune largely consists of shares in the world's largest online retailer. He also owns the space company Blue Origin, which relies on government contracts. A Trump administration could make life difficult for his companies. Bezos was therefore accused of having ordered the decision not to make an election endorsement out of fear of financial losses. Adding fuel to the fire of criticism was the fact that Blue Origin boss Dave Limp met with Trump in Florida just a few hours after the decision was announced. He had not known about this beforehand, Bezos now wrote.
The Amazon founder bought the "Washington Post", which uncovered the "Watergate" scandal in the 1970s and triggered the resignation of President Richard Nixon, in 2013. In the subsequent presidential elections in 2016 and 2020, the newspaper expressed its support for Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden.
