Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of Washington Post, whose decision to end presidential endorsements at the paper set off a firestorm last week, said Monday in his first comments about the change that it had been done to improve the newsroom’s credibility, not to protect his own interests.
In an article that was published on The Post’s website, Bezos wrote,” National testimonials do nothing to tip the scales of an poll.” What national endorsed candidates basically do is give off impressions of discrimination. A belief of non-independence. Ending them is a philosophical decision, and it’s the proper one”.
The report had made the decision to end testimonials on Friday. Some speculated that Bezos, who has owned the document since 2013, was trying to gain behalf with a prospective Trump presidency. The editorial board of the paper had now created a letter of support for Kamala Harris.
Bezos claimed that because of his ownership of the Post, he had not and would not pursue his personal interests, and that there was” no quid pro quo of any kind at work here.” He claimed that the timing of his decision was a result of “inadequate planning, and not some purposeful plan,” despite wishing it had come sooner than it did.
Earlier Monday, three reporters said they were stepping down from the Post’s journal table. All three are serving in various capacities at the report.
