Ex-Washington Post columnist details departure from paper after editor killed column critical of Bezos
"I stayed until I no longer could—until the newspaper's owner, Jeff Bezos, issued an edict that the Post's opinion offerings would henceforth concentrate on the twin pillars of 'personal liberties and free markets,' and, even more worrisome, that 'viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.' I stayed until the Post's publisher, Will Lewis, killed a column I filed last week expressing my disagreement with this new direction. Lewis refused my request to meet," Marcus wrote.
Several Washington Post employees have left the paper since Bezos blocked the editorial board from endorsing former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election over President Donald Trump. Bezos announced in February that the opinion section would be focused on writing "in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets."
Marcus explained she was told by higher-ups that the column she wrote disagreeing with Bezos' direction for the opinion page "did not pass the 'high bar' required for the Post to write about itself."
Washington Post Editorial Board Links Dc Mayor's Decision To Remove Blm Art To A 'Victory For The City'
"It was 'too speculative,' because we couldn't know, until a new opinion editor was named, what the impact of the new direction would be," Marcus wrote, noting the feedback she got from Mary Duenwald, a deputy opinion editor at the Post. "I know of no other episode at the Washington Post, and I have checked with longtime employees at the paper, when a publisher has ordered a column killed."
Read On The Fox News App
Marcus said the "too speculative" excuse took Bezos "for a feckless fool, which he is most certainly not."
"He announced a change in direction, and we should take him at his word, not assume that it was meaningless, or that he would forget about the idea. And my point was not only about what columns would get through the filter, once installed; it was about maintaining the trust of our readers. I asked to speak with Lewis. He declined to see me, instructing an editor to inform me that there was no reason to meet, because his decision was final," she continued.
Marcus, who worked at the paper for 40 years, also called out Post publisher Will Lewis in her resignation letter for killing the column and said the freedom of columnists to write about what they want had been "dangerously eroded."
Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture
Marcus described what she believed was a change of heart throughout Bezos' ownership of the Washington Post, noting that the paper had endorsed former President Biden in 2020 with "no disagreement from the owner."
"I wish we could return to the newspaper of a not so distant past. But that is not to be, and here is the unavoidable truth: the Washington Post I joined, the one I came to love, is not the Washington Post I left," she concluded.
Marcus joined several staffers who have left the Post, including former columnist Jennifer Rubin, who was also very critical of the paper's owner upon her departure.
Marcus also included in her New Yorker article the column that was killed, which rebuked Bezos' changes to the opinion section.
"It was one thing when the owner chose to dispense with Presidential endorsements. The editorial page, consisting of unsigned editorials, reflects the views of the owner. Signed opinions express the views of their creator. My job is supposed to be to tell you what I think, not what Jeff Bezos thinks I should think," she wrote.
The Washington Post did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Original article source: Ex-Washington Post columnist details departure from paper after editor killed column critical of Bezos
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
AI Datacenters Are Raising Nearby Residents' Electric Bills
If you're looking for someone to blame for your ballooning energy bills, we have an increasingly familiar culprit: AI data centers. A new analysis of one the US's largest power grids, PJM, found that a rise in customer energy rates is directly attributable to the tremendous power demands of these data facilities that undergird services like OpenAI's ChatGPT, the Washington Post reports. Serving 67 million customers, the PJM region covers just over a dozen states, including Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, as well as DC. Some of these states will see their energy bills surge by more than 20 percent this summer, Reuters reported; in Philadelphia, according to WaPo, the typical bill rose by about $17. And in Columbus, Ohio, prices spiked by $27. "We are seeing every region of the country experience really significant data center load growth," Abe Silverman, a researcher of energy markets at Johns Hopkins University, told WaPo. "It's putting enormous upward pressure on prices, both for transmission and for generation." Using Columbus as an example again, customers are paying an extra $240 per year due to the power demand of AI data centers, WaPo calculated based on figures from local utility company AEP Ohio. One of the reasons for the soaring costs is that utility companies — which maintain the infrastructure that delivers your power, rather than generating it — are paying more for "capacity," or the total power that's made available to them. Utility companies bid for capacity at an annual auction, and last year, per WaPo, these auction prices soared by an eye-watering 833 percent. They rose again this year by another 22 percent. According to an independent monitor's report, about three-quarters of the surge in capacity prices are because of planned or existing data centers. "There has been a paradigm shift in the market," Joseph Bowring, the author of the independent monitor's report, told WaPo. "These data centers could overwhelm the grid. The system cannot go on this way." Generative AI's energy appetite is so voracious that companies like Microsoft and Google are firing up entire nuclear power plants to supply their data centers. Even heavily polluting coal plants are being kept online as a stopgap until these new facilities come online. And the Trump administration wants to build even more coal plants. It's not just the prices you should worry about, though, or the harrowing environmental toll, ranging from titanic carbon emissions to vaporizing entire lakes' worth of water. The huge spike in power demands are also putting immense stress on the aging power grids themselves, which are failing during brutal heatwaves and frigid winters. Some states are pushing back. Ohio regulators recently ruled that data center companies must pay more for their energy to help make upgrades to the power grid, WaPo noted. But the story's different in Virginia, which has more data centers than any other state — 596, according to the website Data Center Map, with the overwhelming majority up North near DC. To keep its numero uno status, Virginia is offering huge tax breaks to data center companies — meaning they get a free ride, and the state's taxpayers, if the latest trends keep up, get bigger energy bills. "The Big Tech companies suck up the electricity, and we end up paying higher prices," an Ohio resident told WaPo. "I'm not comfortable with average customers subsidizing billion-dollar companies." More on AI: Scientists Just Found Something Unbelievably Grim About Pollution Generated by AI Solve the daily Crossword
CNBC
3 hours ago
- CNBC
Amazon's expansion of grocery delivery isn't the death knell for these stocks. Here's why
Even as Amazon expands further into same-day grocery delivery, analysts still see room for DoorDash and Instacart to compete. Amazon announced Wednesday that it will expand its same-day delivery of perishable items like meat and dairy to more than 1,000 cities, with plans to reach at least 2,300 locations by year-end. The news put pressure on DoorDash and Instacart, which saw their stocks tumble 4% and 14%, respectively, over the past week. Shares of Walmart, which also provides same-day grocery delivery, lost more than 3% over the same period. But Bernstein analyst Zhihan Ma said the sell-off for Instacart and DoorDash may have been overdone as there's enough room in the segment for the competitors to maintain market share. "We believe the sell-off in CART and DASH (on the back of the AMZN news) was overdone, with room for the online penetration rates to expand and retailers to increasingly lean into the platforms," Ma wrote in a Thursday note. For example, Instacart could boost its market share by reducing free delivery thresholds to bring in new customers, Ma said. The analyst sees third-party delivery services having the advantage of greater selection, quick and convenient delivery and the growing benefits tied to the subscription bundles. "CART continues to have a selection advantage to the degree consumers value ordering from Costco , Kroger etc. and these retailers now need to lean further into the on-demand platforms to compete with AMZN (we saw this post-Whole Foods acquisition); and CART has one of the best products with competitive free delivery thresholds, a wide variety of merchant selection, quick delivery windows (40% of orders are priority), and cost efficiency (optimized network, gig worker model)," the analyst said. She echoed a similar sentiment for DoorDash, which she recommended picking up post-sell-off. Even with the pullback, DoorDash shares have advanced nearly 48% so far in 2025. But Ma has a $310 price target for the stock, which suggests shares could rise 25% from where the stock closed on Friday. "Our core thesis on earnings power remains unchanged," she said. "We will continue to monitor for evidence on AMZN's encroachment, but for now remain optimistic on the path forward — powered by core Restaurant delivery but also expansion areas and normalized margin opportunity," she added. Ma's opinion on DoorDash shares is slightly more optimistic than the average analyst as the consensus view is a potential 17% advance for the stock over the next 12 months. For Instacart, analysts predict shares could rise about 34%, on average. Ma's $63 price target suggests 43% upside from here. Instacart shares are up 6% year to date. Deutsche Bank analyst Lee Horowitz also expects that Instacart and DoorDash can remain competitive as the pair benefit from a perception of quality and supply because customers can stick with their favorite grocery stores when using these services. "While much remains to be seen as to how this new product changes the grocery delivery landscape, we believe it most likely that it expands the grocery delivery pie more than cannibalizes current e-commerce volume over the short term," Horowitz said.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bride wants to refuse $100,000 wedding gift because it comes with strings attached. Ramsey show gives advice
A newly-married woman from San Francisco called The Ramsey Show with a dilemma that pits her and her new husband against the cultural expectations of her extended family. Don't miss Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 6 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan 'works every single time' to kill debt, get rich in America — and that 'anyone' can do it The caller states that she and her husband were recently married and although some of her extended family couldn't attend the ceremony, her grandmother and aunt wanted to send a generous monetary gift of around $100,000. But instead of being thrilled, the caller was conflicted. Why? Because in her experience, money from family (and especially her opinionated grandmother), tends to come with strings attached. She worried that accepting the funds would invite unwanted advice and interference in her new marriage. To further complicate matters, her mother disagreed with the couple's decision to decline the gift, calling it "disrespectful." She then offered to accept the money on the newlyweds' behalf and 'pass it along,' adding another layer of pressure. What advice did Ramsey and Kamel give the caller? Dave Ramsey and co-host George Kamel were quick to pick up on the real issue — this isn't about a generous gift; it's about control. Ramsey pointed out that while the gift might not come with explicit conditions, the callers' worry of future meddling was valid. "You understand, though, that when you say 'no thank you,'' there is no pleasant enough way to say that to people who think they have the right to walk into your life and tell you what to do … they're still not going to accept that," he said. Read more: Nervous about the stock market? Gain potential quarterly income through this $1B private real estate fund — even if you're not a millionaire. Their advice was firm: Do not accept the money if it compromises your independence or causes stress in your marriage. 'At the time [you] took that vow of 'for richer or poorer, in sickness and health,' that means the rest of you don't get a vote anymore,' Ramsey explained. "[The] ballot box is closed." The hosts emphasized that setting these boundaries is difficult, especially in families where guilt and manipulation are common. Ramsey recommended a book that would help the caller learn to set and keep boundaries. "Get Dr. Henry Cloud's book 'Boundaries,' because when you read it, one of the first chapters is going to tell you you're not crazy. You're not. And that's good. And that this is wrong. And it's not a cultural thing — it's an interference thing." Despite the challenges, Ramsey and Kamel say the discomfort in setting those boundaries will be worth the peace of mind. How to set financial boundaries with family Setting boundaries about money — especially with family — can be emotionally difficult. But it's crucial for maintaining a healthy marriage and protecting your financial well-being. In this situation, the caller is being given money, but in some families, it's about knowing when and how to say no to money requests, rather than offers. So, how do you do it? According to Headspace, the first step is identifying what you're comfortable with. In the caller's case, it meant declining a well-meaning but complicated gift. It's okay to say, 'Thank you, but we've decided not to accept monetary gifts right now.' For you, it might mean saying, "No, I cannot loan/give you money." When it comes to giving money, don't lend more than you're willing or able to part with comfortably. And be clear about expectations. Here are a few tips for drawing clear lines: Be direct but kind: A firm 'no thank you' can be more respectful than a reluctant 'yes.' Don't overly explain your reasoning: This can give family the idea that if they can overcome those reasons, you'll change your mind. 'No' is a complete sentence. Use 'we' language: If you're in a partnership, presenting a united front helps reduce outside influence. Acknowledge good intentions: Let family know you appreciate their generosity and/or trust in the offer or ask, even if you ultimately decline it. Set and repeat boundaries as needed: One conversation might not be enough, especially if your family is used to being involved in your decisions. Remember you're not responsible for others' feelings — or financial health: You can't control what other people do and you aren't responsible for how they feel. Setting boundaries isn't about being cold or ungrateful; it's about clearly defining what you will and won't accept in your life. When it comes to money and family, those lines can easily get blurred. However, by establishing firm, respectful limits, you can protect your peace, values and relationships. What to read next Robert Kiyosaki warns of a 'Greater Depression' coming to the US — with millions of Americans going poor. But he says these 2 'easy-money' assets will bring in 'great wealth'. How to get in now Here are 5 simple ways to grow rich with real estate if you don't want to play landlord. And you can even start with as little as $10 Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Here are 5 'must have' items that Americans (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you? Stay in the know. Join 200,000+ readers and get the best of Moneywise sent straight to your inbox every week for free. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Solve the daily Crossword
