In August 2019, Senator Bernie Sanders criticized the Washington Post, owned by Jeff Bezos, suggesting biased coverage due to Bezos’s interests in Amazon. This comment provoked a backlash among D.C. elites, including the paper’s executive editor, who dismissed Sanders as a conspiracy theorist. Over time, the Post, facing diminishing profits, laid off hundreds of reporters, including those covering Amazon. The layoffs sparked outrage among local elites who once celebrated Bezos’s purchase of the paper as a rescue.
The article argues that the Post’s decline reflects broader issues with the media industry, particularly the monopolistic practices of tech companies like Google, which have siphoned advertising revenue from newspapers. Despite maintaining a substantial readership online, the Post and similar publications have struggled financially due to these dynamics.
Additionally, Bezos’s acquisition of the Post is suggested to have served his interests in gaining favor with political elites to protect Amazon from scrutiny. The narrative suggests that Bezos’s indifference to the paper’s financial struggles indicates a lack of genuine commitment to journalistic integrity, with the Post seen as a tool for Bezos rather than a robust news outlet.
Ultimately, the article portrays a shift in awareness among the D.C. elite regarding wealth concentration and its implications for democracy, echoing concerns raised by figures like Louis Brandeis about the incompatibility of concentrated wealth with democratic principles. The ongoing crisis in journalism, exacerbated by the tech oligarchy, signals significant challenges for American democracy and local news coverage.
