Hundreds of Washington Post staffers beg owner Jeff Bezos to intervene at troubled paper: We need a clear vision

More than 400 Washington Post journalists sent an angry letter on Wednesday to owner Jeff Bezos, pleading with him to intervene on the paper’s direction to restore the “trust that has been lost.”The move comes as the Beltway broadsheet has seen a revolving door of distinguished journalists head for the exits after Bezos intervened to stop the outlet from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.Bezos defended the decision in an op-ed for the paper, which saw nearly 300,000 readers cancel their subscriptions in the days after the endorsement was killed.“You recently wrote that ensuring the long-term success and editorial independence of this newspaper is essential.We agree, and we believe you take as much pride in The Washington Post as we do,” the letter began.“We are deeply alarmed by recent leadership decisions that have led readers to question the integrity of this institution, broken with a tradition of transparency, and prompted some of our most distinguished colleagues to leave, with more departures imminent.” The letter, signed by many of the paper’s remaining star journalists, went on to note that the issues go beyond the endorsement, which they acknowledged was the “owner’s prerogative.”“This is about regaining our competitive edge, restoring trust that has been lost, and reestablishing a relationship with leadership based on open communication,” the letter said.Staffers have rebelled against the appointment of Will Lewis as CEO.

The former publisher of the Wall Street Journal has attempted to push the left-leaning publication more to the middle and has barred its journalists from reporting on the paper — specifically after Pulizer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Tenaes quit over an illustration that was scrapped.She had lampooned Bezos and other tech titans for bending the knee to President-elect Donald Trump.The letter “urged” the Amazon founder to come to the office and meet with Post lead...