Oct. 29 (UPI) — Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, has defended his controversial decision for his storied publication to end its decades-long tradition of endorsing a presidential candidate.
Bezos penned an Op-Ed published by his newspaper Monday night, stating the internal decision to not endorse either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump for president was done in an effort to increase public trust.
He said newspapers have the daunting task of not only producing accurate news but having the public believe what they produce is the truth. Endorsing a political candidate for president creates the image of bias, a perception of “non-independence,” he said.
“Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one,” he said.
He added that doing away with the tradition may not significantly increase trust among readers but is “a meaningful step in the right direction.”
In the Op-Ed, he acknowledged that they erred by not announcing their decision to do away with endorsing presidential candidates earlier.
“That was inadequate planning, and not some intentional strategy,” he said.
Since The Post announced announced it was discarding presidential endorsements on Friday, it has been buffeted by criticism, dealt with resignations and has been reportedly inundated with canceled subscriptions.
Editorial board members David Hoffman and Molly Roberts resigned in response to the move. In a statement said, Roberts said it was Bezos’ decision to not endorse a candidate and that it was the newspaper’s “imperative to endorse Kamala Harris over Donald Trump.”
“Our silence is exactly what Donald Trump wants: for the media, for us, to keep quiet,” she said.
Twenty-one columnists signed a letter on Friday calling the decision was “a terrible mistake,” one that “represents an abandonment of the fundamental editorial convictions of the newspaper that we love.”
It has also been reported by NPR, citing two people at The Post with knowledge on the matter, that more than 200,000 people have canceled their digital subscription as of Monday in response.
In his Op-Ed, Bezo downplayed the effect of newspaper endorsements on presidential elections, stating that ending the practice is “a meaningful step in the right direction.”
He also clarified that the decision was not informed by his other businesses, including Blue Origin, his aerospace manufacturer, while suggesting further changes at the newspaper might be in the pipeline to regain the public’s trust.
“To win this fight, we will have to exercise new muscles. Some changes will be a return to the past, and some will be new inventions. Criticism will be part and parcel of anything new, of course. This is the way of the world. None of this will be easy, but it will be worth it,” he said.
Bezos, among the world’s richest men, bought The Post for $250 million in 2013.