Jeff Bezos Buries 'The Washington Post' and Kicks Dirt on the Corpse

Whatever remained of the newspaper that Woodward and Bernstein once worked for has effectively been killed by its oligarch owner, Jeff Bezos, who has decided to use The Washington Post editorial page to push his billionaire-friendly ideology. Here’s what Bezos wrote this morning:

I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages.

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.

There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader’s doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views. Today, the internet does that job.

I am of America and for America, and proud to be so. Our country did not get here by being typical. And a big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical — it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity.

I offered David Shipley, whom I greatly admire, the opportunity to lead this new chapter. I suggested to him that if the answer wasn’t “hell yes,” then it had to be “no.” After careful consideration, David decided to step away. This is a significant shift, it won’t be easy, and it will require 100% commitment — I respect his decision. We’ll be searching for a new Opinion Editor to own this new direction.

I’m confident that free markets and personal liberties are right for America. I also believe these viewpoints are underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion. I’m excited for us together to fill that void.

Jeff

For those reading between the lines, Bezos is essentially pushing a brand of libertarian capitalism that prioritizes markets over democracy and “personal liberties”—which, in this context, basically means leave rich folks alone so they can accumulate wealth and trample on economic justice and civil rights in peace. He’s turning the Washington Post editorial page into a mouthpiece for techno-feudalism, where billionaire control is framed as “freedom” and individual choice is valued over the collective good (especially where the individuals are billionaires).

David Shipley, obviously, was pushed out because he refused to turn the opinion section into Bezos’ personal ideological plaything. At least now, Bezos is openly embracing his role as a free-market villain.

The Post may still have value as a regional news outlet, but as a national newspaper, it’s finished. Bezos bought it, ran it into the ground, and instead of selling it—or even handing control to someone else—he stamped it out like a lit cigarette because, to him, the entire value of the newspaper is nothing more than couch-cushion change. The dude who used to sell books on the Internet has fully completed his heel turn into Lex Luthor.