- Jeff Bezos unveiled sweeping changes to The Washington Post’s opinion pages.
- Coverage will now center around two pillars: personal liberties and free markets.
- The search for a new opinions editor has begun after David Shipley stepped away, Bezos said.
Jeff Bezos unveiled sweeping changes to The Washington Post’s opinion page in a note to staff that he also shared on X.
“We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets,” Bezos wrote. “We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.”
Bezos, who owns the Post, said there’s no longer a need for “a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views” because of the internet.
“I am of America and for America, and proud to be so,” he wrote. “And a big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else.”
As part of the overhaul, Bezos said that opinions editor David Shipley is stepping away from the paper, and that the search is on for a replacement.
While newspaper owners generally set the direction of opinion pages, the shift prompted some criticism.
"Massive encroachment by Jeff Bezos into The Washington Post's opinion section today," chief economics reporter Jeff Stein wrote on X. "Makes clear dissenting views will not be published or tolerated there."
In October, The Washington Post made waves when it opted not to endorse a candidate in the presidential election — a decision that the Post reported came from Bezos himself.
Following a year of internal turmoil, hundreds of Post staffers sent Bezos a letter in January asking him to intervene after integrity and transparency issues — far beyond the endorsement controversy, the letter said — had precipitated staff departures.
Here's the note that Bezos shared with staff in full:
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