Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon, Blue Origin and The Washington Post, explained yesterday in the pages of his newspaper why the Post is refraining from endorsing a presidential candidate. The Los Angeles Times and USA Today have also decided not to endorse a presidential candidate this year.
Readers, staffers and some of The Washington Post’s editorial board have fled the once respected newspaper in the wake of Bezos’ announcement last week. The second richest man in the world explained his rationale in the Post’s pages last night and Daily Citizen readers will find it compelling. National Review called it “a remarkable document.”
Bezos begins his explanation by pointing out what nearly every citizen knows, but most journalists refuse to admit: “Our profession is now the least trusted of all. Something we are doing is clearly not working.”
He cites an authoritative Gallup poll that documents this fact. Gallup explained in October, “For the third consecutive year, more U.S. adults have no trust at all in the media (36%) than trust it a great deal or fair amount [emphasis added].” This dramatic decline in trust is generally true among Republicans, Independents and Democrats.
Bezos offers his readers a powerful comparison between trust in voting machines and trust in the media.
Bezos is wisely admitting that when it comes to politics, perception is just as important as reality. He continues,
He makes this pill even more bitter for his own employees and the rest of the elite media complex, stating, “Anyone who doesn’t see this is paying scant attention to reality, and those who fight reality lose.” He drops the final bomb, “Reality is an undefeated champion.”
Bezos then warns those in the media trade, “It would be easy to blame others for our long and continuing fall in credibility, but a victim mentality will not help.”
He rightly explains, “Complaining is not a strategy,” informing his journalists “We must work harder to control what we can control to increase our credibility.”
Bezos then admits that presidential endorsements do absolutely nothing to help voters decide who they should vote for.
Bezos then concedes, “Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one.”
He is correct. It has been some time since elite media enjoyed the confidence of its readers and viewers.
As Gallup shows, the decline in consumer confidence has reached all-time lows. And they have only doubled down in fueling the fire that is burning down their house.
The Washington Post famously claims “democracy dies in darkness” but their owner has now admitted that the Post itself has contributed to that darkness by losing the trust of its own readership. Their own credibility is what has died, and their bold owner is trying to right the ship.
Good for Jeff Bezos on this one.
But be sure of this: It’s going to take a great deal more bold leadership moves to clean up such a self-imposed, massive mess. If it can be cleaned up at all.
Related articles and resources:
Gallup Shows Public Confidence in Elite Media Hits Another All-Time Low
Revealing the Liberal Bias of the American Media
New Study Finds Mainstream Media Covers President Trump 150 Times More Negatively Than Joe Biden
American’s Trust in the Mainstream Media Continues to Fall
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