From the newspaper that invented putting truth to power came one of the most astonishing acts of political cowardice in modern memory when the venerable Washington Post decided to can its editorial supporting Kamala Harris for president. The cancellation came after owner Jeff Bezos secured a meeting between executive officers of his space-camp company “Blue Origin” and Donald Trump in Texas.
The fallout since has been ugly and not just because of the naked power-play but because of where it occurred. If The Washington Post is no longer sacred in its editorial freedom is it safe to expose the next Watergate? Silly question, of course not. There won’t be any Watergates in the next Trump administration (If it comes to pass), only gates to the door in the White House and, much more importantly – possible doors closing for government contracts.
The new political dynamic has led to a groundswell of opposition from the WaPo newsroom to the subscription office. From NPR:
More than 200,000 people had canceled their digital subscriptions by midday Monday, according to two people at the paper with knowledge of internal matters.
Not all cancellations take effect immediately. Still, the figure represents about 8% of the paper’s paid circulation of 2.5 million subscribers, which includes print as well. The number of cancellations continued to grow Monday afternoon.
What kind of business plan calls for an 8% loss in income on any given day with any given announcement? To say nothing of the decades of institutional memory and goodwill lost in the resignations from the board itself and various writers in the newsroom? Only the plan that pays for itself on the back end, the blasting rocket-end on a launch pad – that’s the kind.
Amazon has enough in government contracts, too – thanks much. But Blue Origin remains a plaything for billionaire Bezos because it does, that’s why. Hear me, you’re a sh*t billionaire if you don’t have a company with rockets and spacesuits. Some absolutely believe that the non-endorsement flows directly from an unreported Blue Origin deal. From The Guardian:
Trump met with the Blue Origin chief executive officer, David Limp, and vice-president of government relations, Megan Mitchell, the Associated Press reported. Meanwhile, CNN reported that the Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy, had also recently reached out to speak with the former president by phone.
So that happened and it’s just business now except for those in the newsroom who could make more money doing just about anything but covering politics. They are furious and will now be in a position to go elsewhere and probably double their income:
Those reported overtures were eviscerated by the Washington Post editor-at-large and longtime columnist Robert Kagan, who resigned on Friday. On Saturday, he argued that the meeting Blue Origin executives had with Trump would not have taken place if the Post had endorsed the Democratic vice-president as it planned.
Right. So Bezos wouldn’t have gotten his meeting had he allowed his newspaper to function as the giant it was in the hands of executive editor Ben Bradlee? Yes, those were the days. The WaPo used to drive presidents from office, now an aspiring president brings them into the office for a beatdown and evidently leaves with enough pull to yank a mere endorsement.
Which brings up another thing. What does this say about Donald Trump? Shouldn’t he be big enough to say “I don’t care who your rag endorses, get in here – let’s talk business… ” Yes, one would think so but in this age of personal grievances, nothing is just business. It is all personal, it’s all dollars, score-keeping, billionaires, and those cool ass rockets – all of it transactional, hence the transactions, including canceled subscriptions and careers. Shit.
The Post will weather the cancellations. People will come back for Kornheiser and Wilbon if nothing else. It is the loss of Editorial board members David Hoffman and Molly Roberts that will really hurt. Because if the Post no longer has elite political journalism it becomes every other paper pretty quickly. You cannot be the WaPo without WaPo writers and thought-leaders.
Plus, it is just all so awful. Is this where it stands? It is not like the Post’s editorial was going to make a difference in the actual election. Only the actual egos at play will be impacted, both Bezos’s and Trump’s. If the issues of the day cannot override billionaire feelings then what will? Not your next Watergate, that’s for sure.
By the way, USA Today also declined to endorse a presidential candidate, which would matter if anyone read USA Today or cared what they think to begin with. But it also tells you who they would have endorsed. No one is afraid of actually endorsing Donald Trump – only not doing so. What is being said in these meetings?
It must be something about trouble getting off the launchpad. Harris is planning on lifting everyone up, regardless. Perhaps some billionaires worry about a president whose memory might keep their toy rockets grounded.
God Bless: I can be reached at [email protected] and @JasonMiciak
The sooner we tax these morbidly rich, socially toxic billionaires out of existence, the better.
A wealth tax of 50% would still leave them with half their fortunes, and reduce taxes for everyone else, as well as giving everyone in the country free health care and education.
I’d love to look at these fat-cats’ books and see just how much they’re getting in terms of tax breaks compared with how much they’re paying out in political contributions. There’s always talk about “cutting taxes will put more money into the economy” but I’ve always thought the REAL truth is that “cutting taxes will just put more money into politicians’ election campaigns.”
Gannett is the parent company of USA Today so all news media under Gannett Corp. will not be endorsing presidential candidates but will be endorsing local initiatives & state local races.
WE must get the Rich’s MONEY out of our Politics! RESCIND “Citizens’ United” ASAP!