Latest news with #personal liberties
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
Washington Post exodus grows as MSNBC host and Pulitzer Prize winner Jonathan Capehart takes Bezos buyout
The flood of high-profile editorial talent fleeing the Washington Post as the storied newspaper revamps its opinion section to focus exclusively on 'personal liberties and free markets' continued to grow this week as Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Jonathan Capehart decided to take a buyout. Capehart's departure comes just days after longtime Post reporter and writer Philip Bump announced that he had also accepted a buyout and had written his last column, which followed the paper's beleaguered CEO Will Lewis' ultimatum to staffers to leave if they 'do not feel aligned' with the company's new direction. As first reported by Axios' Sara Fischer Monday morning, Capehart – who was a member of the Post's editorial board until 2023 – ended his 18-year run with the paper this week after taking a buyout through the company's recently implemented voluntary separation program. Capehart, meanwhile, will continue to co-host MSNBC's The Weekend, and serve as a political analyst for PBS. The Washington Post and Capehart did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The paper has been experiencing an exodus of reporters, columnists and editors since late last year when the Post's owner Jeff Bezos blocked the editorial board's planned endorsement of Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. The meddling from the Amazon founder, who has increasingly cozied up to Trump over the past year, resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of subscribers and the resignations of several editorial board members. That internal turmoil, which had already featured the paper's journalists unsuccessfully begging Bezos to visit the newsroom and restore the 'trust that has been lost' under his watch, only grew worse in February when the mega-billionaire instituted a new mandate for the Post's opinion pages that resulted in the section's top editor resigning. 'We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets,' Bezos stated in a memo to staff. 'We'll cover other topics too, of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.' In the months since, a number of veteran Washington Post journalists have quit, directly citing the new opinion directive and editorial restrictions that they've faced. Ruth Marcus, who had been with the paper since 1984, resigned in March when she said Lewis declined to publish her column that saw her 'respectfully dissenting' from Bezos' edict. The following month, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Eugene Robinson – who had worked for the paper since 1980 – announced that he was 'retiring from my longtime journalistic home but not from journalism,' adding that 'significant shift' in the opinion section's mandate had pushed him to do so. Longtime cartoonist Ann Telnaes quit earlier this year after her cartoon mocking media titans – including Bezos – bending the knee to Trump was rejected by her editor. She would win a Pulitzer Prize for her work months later. With morale at an all-time low at the paper, Lewis has been described as being in a 'state of hiding' by staff. In late May, executive editor Matt Murray revealed that the paper would be offering a voluntary separation program for news employees with at least 10 years of service, along with all members of the Post's video department, copy desk and sports section. Weeks later, after intense speculation over who would take over the opinion section after David Shipley's resignation over the new mandate, Bezos and Lewis tapped Adam O'Neal to take the job – despite the fact that his only prior management experience was a short and tumultuous run as executive editor of conservative outlet The Dispatch. 'I know this represents a shift for many of you, and maybe even an unwelcome one for some, but simply being reconciled to these changes is not enough,' O'Neal wrote to opinion staffers in an introductory memo earlier this month. 'We want those who stick with us to be genuinely enthusiastic about the new direction and focus.' Meanwhile, Lewis reiterated in a letter to the newsroom a couple of weeks ago that those who aren't fully on board with Bezos' edict should take the money and run. 'As we continue in this new direction, I want to ask those who do not feel aligned with the company's plan to reflect on that,' he noted. Amid the buyout push and the new direction of the paper's opinion pages, the paper has seen more and more veteran journalists add their names to the list of ex- Washington Post staffers. Joe Davidson, who helmed the outlet's Federal Insider column for the past 17 years, said earlier this month that he quit in protest after one of his pieces was killed for being 'too opinionated under an unwritten and inconsistently enforced policy.' Though he said he had 'no reason to believe' Bezos was directly involved in spiking the column, 'it would be naïve to ignore the context.' Sharing his latest column about authoritarians stepping in when 'trust in institutions' crumbles, Bump told his social media followers on Thursday that it was his last Post article. 'I was offered and accepted a buyout,' he stated. 'To answer one possible next question, I'm not sure what's next save taking some time off.' As for Capehart, his decision to walk away from the Post comes two months after he revealed in his latest book what sparked his resignation from the paper's editorial board in 2023. According to his book, Capehart got into a heated disagreement with fellow editor Karan Tumulty over the editorial board writing an op-ed that criticized then-President Joe Biden for calling Georgia's voting laws 'Jim Crow 2.0,' claiming he had been 'hyperbolic.' 'Capehart, the only Black man on the Post's editorial board at the time, agreed with Biden's description and was bothered by the editorial and the fact that readers may believe it represented his view,' Semafor reported about the incident. 'He was incensed when Tumulty later did not apologize to him for publishing it; Capehart said he felt additionally put off when Tumulty said Biden's choice of words was insulting to people who had lived through racial segregation in the South.' Semafor added that Capehart's book had been the 'subject of internal recriminations' at the paper, largely because it 'publicly pitted current colleagues against each other and appeared to run afoul of the Post's editorial guidelines around collegiality, as well as rules that restrict staff from publicly disclosing internal editorial conversation.'
Fox News
7 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Washington Post's new opinion editor promises ‘ambitious' changes, echoes Jeff Bezos' talking points
The Washington Post's new opinion editor promised "ambitious and thorough" changes to the storied section while making it clear that he aligns with billionaire owner Jeff Bezos' desire to "rebuild trust with more Americans." Bezos announced some major changes to the outlet's opinion page in February when he declared, "We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We'll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others," and that top opinion editor David Shipley decided to step away. Post opinion section staffers were eager to learn about their new boss and the direction of the sections for months until Adam O'Neal was plucked from The Economist. O'Neal was announced as Shipley's replacement in an unusual selfie-style video that was posted to X by the Post's communications department in June. He began his tenure leading the opinion section of the Post on Monday, where staffers were greeted with an email titled simply, "Looking forward," that echoed Bezos' "personal liberties and free markets" message. "After thinking and planning for quite some time, I'm beyond thrilled to finally get to work. It won't be easy, but we have a real opportunity to build the most popular, vibrant and influential opinion section in the country. My top priority will be to significantly increase the reach and effect of our work. Advocating for free markets and personal liberties will be critical as we rebuild trust with more Americans and scale our high-quality journalism," O'Neal wrote in the email obtained by Fox News Digital. "This is not a partisan project, and we will welcome robust debate within the twin pillars. It's also important that we communicate with optimism about this country in particular and the future in general," he continued. "The changes we have planned are not marginal. They will be ambitious and thorough." Bezos was scolded by liberal commentators after his February announcement of major changes to the opinion section, with many critics accusing him of bending the knee to President Donald Trump. O'Neal, who has also worked at The Dispatch and The Wall Street Journal, told staffers that his department would embrace the paper's longstanding traditions as changes are made. "Throughout, we will cultivate and maintain core values: encouraging original reporting; creating a collegial atmosphere; expecting high standards; and embracing experimentation and innovation. We won't let sentimentality slow down much-needed reform. I have tremendous respect for The Post's 148-year history, as well as its culture of adaptation and evolution. We will embrace that tradition wholeheartedly as we chart a new, transformative path for this iconic institution," O'Neal wrote. "I know this represents a shift for many of you, and maybe even an unwelcome one for some, but simply being reconciled to these changes is not enough. We want those who stick with us to be genuinely enthusiastic about the new direction and focus," he continued. "While I've spent the past few months learning about the inner-workings of our section, I'll also spend the coming days having a close-up look at our systems and workflow. That means that, in addition to learning from you all individually, I'll be sitting in on meetings and discussions as an observer." O'Neal called it a "unique and exciting time for The Post" and wrapped up his email by noting that the opinion section's "future" team is not currently in place. "I'm eager to put together the team that will bring us into the future," O'Neal wrote. It's been turbulent times at the Post, which famously came under fire after Bezos stopped the editorial page from endorsing then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 over Trump, prompting several staffers to leave the paper. The Post endorsed former President Biden in 2020 and Hillary Clinton in 2016. When Bezos explained the decision, he cited a Gallup poll showing Americans losing trust in the media, even falling below Congress, telling readers, "Our profession is now the least trusted of all. Something we are doing is clearly not working." Last week, publisher and CEO Will Lewis offered a blunt ultimatum to staff who aren't onboard with the "new direction" the paper is taking under Bezos. "I understand and respect, however, that our chosen path is not for everyone," Lewis wrote in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital. "That's exactly why we introduced the voluntary separation program. As we continue in this new direction, I want to ask those who do not feel aligned with the company's plan to reflect on that. The VSP is designed to support you in making this decision, give you the ability to weigh your options thoughtfully and with less concern about financial consequences. And if you think that it's time to move on to a new chapter, the VSP helps you take that next step with more security."
