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The Washington Post’s editorial page had drafted an endorsement of Kamala Harris for president when its owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, intervened to cancel its publication, The Washington Post reports. In its place, The Post ran a bizarre column by its current publisher (and former Rupert Murdoch henchman) Will Lewis, saying The Post would not endorse anyone.
In his editorial, Lewis cited the Post’s decision not to publish an endorsement in the race between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960.
Nixon would later be implicated in the Watergate scandal, which generated 69 indictments and 48 criminal convictions in one of the biggest political corruption scandals in American history.
“We recognize that this will be read in a range of ways, including as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, or as a condemnation of another, or as an abdication of responsibility,” Lewis wrote. (It is unclear who the “we” is, here. Lewis? Lewis and Bezos? Some secret third group?) “That is inevitable. We don’t see it that way. We see it as consistent with the values The Post has always stood for and what we hope for in a leader: character and courage in service to the American ethic, veneration for the rule of law, and respect for human freedom in all its aspects.”
This is now the second American newspaper, after The Los Angeles Times, to kill a Harris endorsement at the owner’s behest. Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong similarly blocked a planned endorsement, prompting the newspaper’s editorials editor to resign in protest.
The Post’s union says it is “deeply concerned” that the paper would do this just 11 days before a “immensely consequential” election. “The message from our chief executive, Will Lewis — not from the Editorial Board itself — makes us concerned that management has interfered with the work of our members in Editorial.” Readers are already canceling subscriptions, the statement notes. Neoconservative scholar Robert Kagan resigned his position as editor-at-large, according to Semafor’s Max Tani.
The Washington Post, which bears the motto “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” published endorsements of candidates for Virginia’s 7th district on Oct. 13 and for senate in Maryland on Oct. 2. It has routinely published investigations into Donald Trump that allege wrongdoing and illegal behavior.
Two Washington Post board members, Charles Lane and Stephen W. Stromberg, wrote the Harris endorsement, according to The Columbia Journalism Review. David Shipley, the editorial page director, told staff the endorsement was “on track, adding that ‘this is obviously something our owner has an interest in,’” according to The CJR. Today, Shipley told the board there would be no endorsement. That was followed by Lewis’s peculiar editorial.
NPR also reported Shipley had approved and then canceled the editorial, saying that Shipley “told colleagues it was being reviewed by Bezos.” Bezos’s other companies have contracts with the American government. Among them: Amazon’s $10 billion cloud contract with the NSA and Blue Origin’s $3.4 billion contract with NASA to build a lunar lander.
“This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty,” said Marty Baron, the former Washington Post executive editor, in a text message to the Post. “Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners). History will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.”
