"This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations. The Washington Post's ambitions will be sharply diminished, its talented and brave staff will be further depleted, and the public will be denied the ground-level, fact-based reporting in our communities and around the world that is needed more than ever."
"Of course, there were acute business problems that had to be addressed. No one can deny that. This is a period of head-spinning change in media consumption. The response to that is necessarily difficult and severely disruptive. Radical innovation is required. The Post's challenges, however, were made infinitely worse by ill-conceived decisions that came from the very top from a gutless order to kill a presidential endorsement 11 days before the 2024 election to a remake of the editorial page that now stands out only for its moral infirmity."
"Loyal readers, livid as they saw owner Jeff Bezos betraying the values he was supposed to uphold, fled The Post. In truth, they were driven away, by the hundreds of thousands. The owner, in a note to readers, wrote that he aimed to boost trust in The Post. The effect was something else entirely: Subscribers lost trust in his stewardship and, notwithstanding the newsroom's stellar journalism, The Post overall."
A sweeping round of layoffs at The Washington Post has sharply diminished ambitions, depleted talented staff, and deprived the public of ground-level, fact-based reporting. Acute business problems exist amid head-spinning change in media consumption, requiring radical innovation. Ill-conceived, top-level decisions—including killing a presidential endorsement 11 days before the 2024 election and remaking the editorial page—exacerbated those challenges. Loyal readers and leading journalists departed in large numbers, subscribers lost trust in owner Jeff Bezos, and perceived efforts to curry favor with President Trump inflicted additional reputational damage and staff erosion.
Read at www.mediaite.com
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