Once upon a time in a tech utopia, Jeff Bezos was beaming with pride over his acquisition of the Washington Post, like a kid with a new bike—or maybe a spaceship. Fast forward a few years and his enthusiastic hashtags like #democracydiesindarkness don’t quite shine as brightly.
Since purchasing the paper in 2013, Bezos has transformed from curious benefactor to cautious manager, shifting gears faster than you can say ‘laid off.’ Recent cuts slashed over 300 jobs from the newsroom, including sports and tech reporters (goodbye, Amazon guy!). Marty Baron, the former editor-in-chief, lamented that these layoffs marked one of the darkest days in the history of the once-venerated news organization.
What happened to the days when Bezos claimed he’d be proud of the Post at 90? It seems like those dreams have hit a speed bump (or a crisis). With a mixture of misguided endorsements and the axing of key report teams, it begs the question: Is the future of the Washington Post now a mere footnote in Bezos’ sprawling empire? Only time—and perhaps a few good tweets—will tell.
Leave a Reply