October 29, 2024

William Lewis, publisher and chief executive officer of The Washington Post, today issued a statement that the organization was not going to endorse candidates for President of the United States this election, nor would they endorse a presidential candidate going forward.

The message was simpering nonsense (something about “returning to our roots”), the staff is furious, and many journalists have condemned the decision as nothing other than rank cowardice. I agree.

Lewis was doing owner Jeff Bezos’s dirty work, but that’s irrelevant. As a subscriber for the past 50 years, I joined thousands of other subscribers in canceling our subscription. Yes, I know Bezos doesn’t care, but I just can’t abide sending them my money to read editorial positions that are compromised by spinelessness.

Speculation has run rampant that Bezos is hoping not to further irritate Trump should he win the election. Trump has been vociferous in his hatred of Bezos, and has threatened vague (and probably illegal) action against Amazon. If Bezos thinks he will now be in Trump’s good graces, he’s even more stupid than he looks.

This is a horrible time for the business of journalism. Legacy media is losing money left and right, and owners are trying — sometimes desperately and/or badly — to create new revenue streams. The Washington Post joins The Los Angeles Times as a partner in shame. Their editorial staff, too, was forced to bend to the will of their owner and decline to endorse a candidate.

As a journalism major in college, I came up in the age of Watergate, when courageous writers, editors and publishers stood up to presidents and held them accountable. They saw their mission as a calling, something greater than next quarter’s P&L statement. Those days, unfortunately, are long gone.