Update 2/26/2025:  It is more important than ever that ‘we the people’ take a stand against billionaire oligarch ownership of the institutions of our press.  Jeff Bezos made a stunning announcement that the WAPO editorial page would be ‘’writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets’’.  He further stated that ‘’we’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others’’. Jeff Bezos has taken an institution of our free press and reshaped it into his personal mouthpiece, forcing it to espouse ideology and opinion that fully aligns with his billionaire-class position.  This billionaire takeover of a pillar of our media eco-system eerily aligns to the Elon Musk takeover of Twitter in which he turned a ‘public-square’ of communication into a tool to advance his personal far-right, billionaire-class agenda.  We can not allow the foundational pillars of our collective media eco-system to remain in the hands of billionaires.  By interfering in the editorial process to advance his own poltical and economic agenda, Jeff Bezos shows us that media institutions that serve the public interest NEVER belong in the hands of any one man.

Freedom of the press is a foundational element of a healthy and vibrant democracy.  It is a fundamental right within any democratic society, as it functions to hold power to account in service to the public good.  A free press allows news outlets, journalists, and members of the public to communicate openly without fear of reprisal, retaliation, or censorship from the government.  And ideally, it engenders a relationship of trust, creating cohesion and unity within a society by following principles of journalistic ethics and integrity.

Our free press is in crisis in the USA.  Social media has changed the funding model of our newspapers by diminishing the role of advertising, plunging most papers into financial distress that subscription revenues simply can’t alleviate.  Billionaires and private equity firms stepped into this crisis to buy up newspaper and media companies throughout the country.  While they’ve offered short-term financial lifelines, it’s come at a cost to journalists, private citizens, and the health and vitality of our democracy.  It’s come at a cost to the freedom of our press.

The Washington Post was purchased by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for 250 million dollars in 2013.  Mr. Bezos is the second richest man in the world with a fortune valued at 251 billion dollars.  It’s not hard to imagine the conflicts of interest that arise from an ownership structure that puts a major anchor of the free press into the hands of one of the richest people in the world.  Unfortunately, in the last several months, the Washington Post has been rocked by two incidents that highlight the complexity of this ownership structure, and demonstrate the damage in trust that results when a newspaper is perceived to prioritize the interests of its owner over the interests of the public.  The incidents are as follows:

• In October 2024, the Washington Post pulled an editorial that endorsed Kamala Harris just days before it was set to be published.  It was reportedly pulled at the direction of Jeff Bezos under the auspices of restoring credibility through non-endorsement of political candidates.  While the merits of this can be debated, the ensuing backlash for the yanking of an already-written editorial was swift and severe.  Over 250,000 people cancelled subscriptions at the time in protest of the interference of the owner in journalistic processes.  Several members of the editorial staff signed their names to an open letter protesting the move, signaling that it truly was a unilateral decision made at the behest of the owner rather than a shared decision made by a team of journalists.  It was the first signal to the public that the private interests of its billionaire owner superseded the interests of the public.
• In January 2025, a longtime editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned from the Washington Post after a cartoon depicting Bezos and other billionaires giving gifts to Donald Trump was pulled by the editorial board.  She shared a letter that indicated that she had never before had a cartoon pulled in this manner, and had no choice but to resign in service to journalistic ethics.

The Consequences:

These incidents have badly damaged the trust the public has in the Washington Post.  Many Americans fear that it is bending preemptively to authoritarianism, thus failing in its obligation to hold power to account.  It is clear that billionaires are wielding outsize power and influence over our political and governmental systems.  And people fear that the interests of billionaires will be prioritized by our systems of government if the free press pulls punches and fails to report on abuses of power and wealth.  

The Fix:

Billionaires should not have an ownership stake in our press.  Inevitably, conflicts of interest will arise that simply can’t be resolved because the two have fundamentally opposed obligations.  A billionaire has an obligation to self, but perhaps more importantly, they have financial obligations to their companies and to shareholder interests.  And a free press has an obligation to protect and serve the interests of the public.  Because of the inevitable tension that results from these conflicts, there should be clear separation of ownership.

This means that Jeff Bezos must dissolve his ownership stake of the Washington Post.  Currently, he has a stewardship obligation to the Post, and he should take that responsibility seriously by working with representatives of the Post to create a plan for dissolution of his ownership stake and creation of a revenue and funding model that will allow the Post to continue the practice of journalism at the highest levels.  The Washington Post should under no circumstances be sold to investors or private equity firms with the intention of generating short-term profit at the expense of long-term vitality and sustainability.  Rather it should consider alternative ownership models, such as non-profit 501c3 status.  Jeff Bezos should consider bequeathing an endowment of hundreds of millions of his fortune to the Post to ensure long-term financial sustainability.  Perhaps 100 million dollars for each of the years he has owned the Post, providing an immediate endowment of 1.2 billion dollars.

Timeline:

Jeff Bezos and Washington Post leadership should consider an immediate announcement of the plan for dissolution of his ownership stake with an estimated timeline for how long this process will take.  A team should be put together immediately to start the process of planning for and implementing this change in Washington Post ownership.

The Washington Post should not be allowed to die in darkness!