Washington Post opinion editor David Shipley resigned Tuesday after the paper’s owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced that, going forward, on the opinion pages, “We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets.”
Bezos made the announcement to the Post staff on Tuesday. “We’ll cover other topics too of course,” he added, “but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.”
“I am of America and for America, and proud to be so. Our country did not get here by being typical,” Bezos continued. “And a big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else.”
He stressed that “Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical — it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity.”
Of Shipley, Bezos said, “I offered David Shipley, whom I greatly admire, the opportunity to lead this new chapter. I suggested to him that if the answer wasn’t ‘hell yes,’ then it had to be ‘no.’”
“After careful consideration, David decided to step away.”
Yeah, that’s a shame.
“I’m confident that free markets and personal liberties are right for America. I also believe these viewpoints are underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion,” Bezos said in closing. “I’m excited for us together to fill that void.”
One crybaby Post staffer has already threatened to quit: “I still have not felt encroachment on my journalism on the news side of coverage,” wrote someone who works at the Post named Jeff Stein, “but if Bezos tries interfering with the news side I will be quitting immediately and letting you know.”
Yeah, you let us know, Jeff. We’ll all be right here on the edge of our seats waiting for you to let us know.
File/Phil Rucker, Matea Gold, Sally Buzbee, and David Shipley listen as others speak with the staff of The Washington Post as they learn they have won three 2024 Pulitzer Prizes during a newsroom gathering in Washington, DC on Monday, May 06, 2024. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty)
A crybaby Post subscriber who does legal analysis for cable news is so offended by the idea of defending free markets and personal liberty, he canceled his subscription.
This looks to me like a Trump-style move to rid his failing newspaper of the Woke Parasites eating it alive. Maybe this will get more of them to self-deport quit in a huff like Jennifer Rubin did (nobody misses her). That way there’s no severance or lawsuits.
All of this leaves me with questions… How serious is Bezos? If we will finally have an establishment media outlet recognize that individual liberty and free markets are worth defending, that would be a sea change within an overall media institution that seeks to enslave us with a “benevolent” centralized government only interested in “fairness” and “equity” and the “greater good.”
What is his definition of personal liberty? Does Bezos recognize that forcing an individual to use certain pronouns is fascism, or does he believe “personal liberty” means some pervert must be addressed using the pervert’s preferred pronouns?
Let’s say, though, that Bezos gets it, which would be fantastic. Is this new editorial policy enough of a shift towards sanity to save the Post, or is it too late?
My guess is that it’s too late, which is a shame if Bezos is indeed sincere.
John Nolte’s first and last novel, Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.