In an unusual appeal, over 400 journalists of the Washington Post have written to the owner Jeff Bezos for a meeting with him over their deep concerns about the future of the newspaper. The letter, signed by several high-profile figures in the newsroom, calls on Bezos to step in and help restore the trust that has been eroded among readers.
Since he purchased the Washington Post back in 2013, Bezos has kept out of the editorial aspects, mostly keeping himself involved in the business aspect of the publication. The letter makes it clear that the issues being brought forward have nothing to do with his recent decision to no longer endorse U.S. presidential candidates, a move the signers concede was “the owner’s prerogative.” That decision has had significant fallout, with the Post reportedly losing 250,000 subscribers, or about 10% of its readership, and anticipating a $100 million loss in 2024.
“We are deeply alarmed by recent leadership decisions that have led readers to question the integrity of this institution and disrupted a tradition of transparency,” the letter states. It emphasizes further that the losses of the distinguished colleagues and the possibility of more to leave well stem from the current climate.
The letter continued: “This is way beyond the matter of the presidential endorsement. It’s about winning back our lost edge, a reclaiming of lost trust and a relationship with leadership on an open line.”
The newspaper’s digital traffic also suffered, falling from 114 million visitors in November 2020 to just 54 million visitors in November 2024. With such a financial downturn, the newspaper laid off about 100 employees, or 4% of its workforce, last week, joining the anxiety already felt by staffers.
Concerns about the paper’s direction have increased under the stewardship of Will Lewis, who has been CEO since November 2023. Though Lewis is not named in the letter, there has been great discontent under his stewardship, as he has apparently pushed to attempt to move the paper’s editorial orientation from left to center. Lewis has been criticized for putting restrictions on journalists covering internal matters, a controversy compounded by the departure of Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes.
In recent weeks, many star reporters have said they’re leaving for places such as The Atlantic and The Wall Street Journal, among them Ashley Parker, Josh Dawsey, and Michael Scherer.
The letter concludes on a very poignant note, reminding Bezos of his very first letter written when he first acquired the Washington Post in 2013 and writing, “As you wrote when you first became The Post’s owner in 2013, ‘The values of The Post do not need changing.’ We implore you to stand with us in reaffirming those values.”
