The Amazon founder and owner of The Washington Post Co. said Monday that the paper’s decision not to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris was a response to a larger issue of eroding media credibility.
In his article, Bezos noted that media organizations consistently rank near the bottom in recent surveys on trust and public reputation. of the title “Hard truth: Americans don’t trust the news media,” published in the Post’s opinion column. But this year, Gallup reported an even more damning verdict: that journalism now ranks among the lowest in American trust, and Bezos said it’s not just the perception of bias that is eroding media credibility; It was also undermined by the industry’s tendency to ignore the recognition of
Bezos went on to explain that the recent backlash over the Post’s decision not to endorse Harris only highlights a serious problem: trust in news organizations depends on two pillars: . Reports must be accurate, and for reporting to be accurate, it must be widely trusted. The choice not to support sparked outrage across liberal circles, but as Bezos said in an unusual public response, the decision was not rooted in partisanship but rather a commitment to true independence. It is rooted in
🚨Breaking news: Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos speaks out after the paper refuses to endorse Kamala Harris’ presidential candidacy
“Hard truth: Americans don’t trust the news media” pic.twitter.com/3Dl8OaY4kj
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 29, 2024
“The president’s endorsement does nothing to change the scale of the election. No undecided voter in Pennsylvania is going to say, ‘I’m going to follow Newspaper A.’ none. What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. Recognition of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision and the right decision,” Bezos wrote.
Bezos said the choice could give one candidate an advantage over another, especially given that former President Donald Trump happened to meet on the same day with executives from Blue Origin, a company Bezos owns. He acknowledged that it may appear to have been done at a strategic time. (Related article: “Absolute defeat”: FOX News guest slams WaPo’s decision to sit out the election)
“I also want to be clear that there is no quid pro quo of any kind at work here. Neither the campaign nor the candidate was consulted or informed in any way at any level or on this decision. ,” he wrote to clarify that the decision was made internally.
Still, media credibility issues are neither unique nor new, and Bezos is acutely aware of the major challenges facing the paper and the industry as a whole. “Increasingly, we’re only talking to a certain elite,” Bezos said, contrasting with WaPo’s 80% household penetration rate in the D.C. metropolitan area in the 1990s, which has declined today. Ta.
“Now, more than ever, the world needs a trusted, trustworthy, independent voice. And what better place to give that voice than in the capital of the world’s most important country?” This fight “We need to build new muscles to win,” Bezos added.
WaPo lost more than 200,000 subscribers after CEO and publisher William Lewis announced that for the first time in decades, the paper’s editorial board would not support a presidential candidate, NPR reported. Following the decision, several staff members who had supported Harris reportedly resigned in protest.
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