Marty Baron, former executive editor of The Washington Post, scorched Jeff Bezos on Thursday after the paper’s billionaire owner declared that the opinion section would be revamped to focus on the “two pillars” of “personal liberties and free markets.”
Baron ― who served as The Post’s editor from 2012 to 2021 ― told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he was “shocked” by remarks by Bezos, who wrote in a lengthy X post that “viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by” papers other than The Post.
“He’s saying that only his point of view is going to be represented on those pages and that really is a betrayal of the heritage of The Washington Post and I think a betrayal of the very idea of free expression,” said Baron, who has slammed Bezos for “basically” being “fearful” of President Donald Trump.
“And it actually, in contrast to how newspapers, news organizations, honor free expression with a variety of points of view, it actually dishonors free expression which is the most fundamental personal liberty of American citizens.”
The recent change under Bezos led to the resignation of David Shipley, The Post’s opinion editor, and criticism from others at the paper.
The opinion section shakeup comes after several turbulent months that saw Bezos announce that The Post would no longer endorse presidential candidates in a move that led tobacklash.
The paper’s editorial board had reportedly drafted an endorsement for then-Vice President Kamala Harris only for it to be scrapped after the billionaire reviewed it. The move led to subscribers fleeing from the paper and a number of staff resignations.
And just last month, The Post’s editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes quit the paper after it trashed a sketch showing Bezos and others on bended knee for Trump.
Telnaes, a Pulitizer Prize winner, wrote on Substack that she “never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at” until that one.
Baron, in his MSNBC appearance, said the morale at The Post has “definitely gone into the tank” and noted that Bezos has previously shared that the editorial pages should have a “variety of views.”
Go Ad-Free — And Protect The Free Press
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
“And I totally agree with him, that’s the nature of democracy, is that we have vigorous debate over policies but this is really an anti-democratic move,” Baron said.
“It says that, ‘No, the only opinion that is permitted here is my opinion and you have to share that and there’s no room for you on my pages, on our site, if you have an opposing point of view.’ That is anti-democratic in nature.”