David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, recently expressed his disapproval of Jeff Bezos’ decision to block The Washington Post’s endorsement of Vice President Harris just days before the election.
This move, which came less than two weeks prior to Election Day, caused serious uproar, leading to the resignation of several editorial board members and anger among Democratic leaders and media figures.
Remnick highlights the broader media implications of Bezos’ editorial endorsement halt
Remnick, who has a history with The Washington Post, discussed the situation in an interview with Oliver Darcy. He pointed out that if Bezos had announced a policy to end editorial endorsements years ago, it might have been defensible, but doing so so close to an election, especially when an endorsement for Harris was already prepared, changed the context entirely.
Bezos defended his decision in a pre-election op-ed, claiming it was not aimed at advancing his business interests, as some speculated, but rather to maintain the paper’s credibility in an era of diminishing trust in the media. He emphasized that no political campaign or candidate was consulted in the decision.
This occurred despite The Washington Post’s ongoing leadership challenges under CEO Will Lewis, as it faced declining readership and revenue, reportedly losing many subscribers due to the endorsement controversy.
