"Billionaire Jeff Bezos got praised for saving The Washington Post in 2013. Now, billionaire Jeff Bezos is getting grief for massive cuts at the paper, which he could certainly afford not to make. News outlets are in a tough spot, which is why we often want billionaires to buy them. Now we see the downside, too. The cuts at The Washington Post are brutal."
"They are brutal for the paper's readers, who lose crucial coverage like sports and international reporting. And they are brutal for hundreds of Post employees, including lots of people whose work I pay to read with my Post subscription. The Post's cuts have also led lots of people to point out the obvious - that Post owner Jeff Bezos, who is currently the world's fourth-richest man, worth an estimated $261 billion, could easily fund the paper's losses ... forever, without ever noticing the tab."
The Washington Post implemented deep staff and coverage cuts that eliminated beats such as sports and international reporting and led to hundreds of layoffs. The paper reported a $77 million loss in 2023 while its owner’s net worth rose to roughly $249 billion, prompting public criticism that the owner could absorb losses without hardship. Observers contrasted the paper’s cuts with wealthy expenditures attributed to the owner, including a superyacht and a pricey production titled "Melania." Financial strain in newsrooms fuels interest in billionaire ownership, but concentrated ownership can also produce painful budget decisions and reduced coverage.
Read at Business Insider
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