Former Washington Post Editor Torches Jeff Bezos Over Newsroom Cuts | EUROtoday

A legendary former editor of The Washington Post has known as out the choice to intestine the paper’s newsroom, calling it one of many “darkest days” within the publication’s historical past and torching billionaire proprietor Jeff Bezos for “sickening efforts to curry favor” with President Donald Trump.

Marty Baron, who was editor of The Post from 2012 till his retirement 5 years in the past, wrote on Facebook: “This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations.”

He added, “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.”

He singled out Bezos’ “ill-conceived” resolution to finish The Post’s custom of endorsing presidential nominees on the 2024 presidential election, calling it a “gutless order” 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,” he stated.

“Bezos’s sickening efforts to curry favor with President Trump have left an especially ugly stain of their own. This is a case study in near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction,” Baron added.

Bezos bought The Post in 2013. Baron stated he stays grateful to have had Bezos’ backing through the years he served as The Post’s govt editor.

“During that time, he came under brutal pressure from Trump. And yet he spoke forcefully and eloquently of a free press and The Post’s mission,” Baron wrote.

“I wish I detected the same spirit today. There is no sign of it,” he continued.

The Post slashed one-third of its employees on Wednesday as a part of a long-expected main spherical of layoffs. The paper’s sports activities desk and books division might be eradicated, whereas the Post Reports podcast can even be suspended, as a part of the newly introduced cuts.

The Washington Post Guild additionally took intention at Bezos, calling for him to get replaced if he’s not keen to again the storied publication.

It stated in a press release, “If Jeff Bezos is no longer willing to invest in the mission that has defined this paper for generations and serve the millions who depend on Post journalism, then The Post deserves a steward that will.”