Marty Baron, the former top editor of the Washington Post, is intensifying his criticism of Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of the newspaper, over a decision to not endorse a presidential candidate in next week’s election.
“I feel exceptionally disappointed,” Baron said during an interview of the weekend with The New Yorker. “And I worry about what it means, not just for the Post but for democracy.”
Business executives who own media organizations need “to be willing to stand up to intense pressure,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and editor continued. “And Bezos demonstrated that he was capable of that and willing to do that. Now I worry that there’s a sign of weakness. If Trump sees a sign of weakness, he’s going to pounce even harder in the future.”
The decision for the Post not to endorse a presidential candidate was made personally by Bezos, the newspaper itself reported last week, and was handed down after its editorial board had already drafted an endorsement of Vice President Harris.
It is the first time the Post has not endorsed a presidential candidate in more than three decades.
The news sent shockwaves across the political and media worlds, with angry staffers voicing bewilderment and shock publicly and leading to a slew of Post cancellations.
Baron, who worked under Bezos during former President Trump’s first term in office, on Friday afternoon called it “cowardice, with democracy as its casualty.”
“I’m deeply disappointed and concerned about what it means for our country when we demonstrate weakness,” Baron told the New Yorker. “When you walk into the newsroom of the Washington Post, there’s a set of principles on the wall, which were articulated in 1935. And one of those principles on the wall, and I just printed it out this morning, is that the newspaper’s duty is to its readers and to the public at large and not to the private interests of its owners.”
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