A prominent writer for The Washington Post recently decided to abandon ship, voicing his dissatisfaction with the billionaire proprietor Jeff Bezos and the erratic editorial changes indirectly influenced by him. Joe Davidson, who had the honor of creating the ‘Federal Insider’ column during his 20-year tenure, finally stepped away, making it clear that the prestige associated with being a ‘Washington Post columnist’ was no longer worth the emotional expense.
Davidson expressed that the final straw was the institute of a nebulous, inconsistently administered policy against opinion pieces in the news section– a policy he was unaware of until one of his Federal Insider articles was suddenly denounced as excessively biased. Davidson maintained that while such a policy might be arguably warranted from a journalistic standpoint, this abrupt policy deviation was contrary to the longstanding practices of The Washington Post and led to a restructuring of Davidson’s role which he refused to entertain.
According to Davidson, this regulation against voiced opinion dulled the essential examination of public personages in News articles, though he didn’t charge Bezos with direct intervention with respect to his column’s abrupt dismissal. He revealed his astonishment when his column got axed for being ‘too opinionated’, a piece discussing the tumultuous period of an unspecified presidency and its potentially questionable actions, which included a crackdown on specific establishments and a plot to oust activists.
Out of a desire to gauge the ferocity of these newfound regulations, Davidson penned some additional articles before his departure. One such example was when Davidson was prohibited from referring to a proposed wage increase for federal employees as ‘well-deserved.’ This came as a shocking reinforcement of the new Post’s policy. The rigidly-applied policy and the sheer absence of commentaries eventually led to Davidson’s resignation.
Davidson revealed his decision to continue subscribing to The Washington Post in spite of his personal resentments, recognizing it as a means of supporting the professional endeavors of his erstwhile colleagues. Yet, he did not fail to acknowledge those who abolished their subscriptions as a form of protest against the decision that seemingly undermined the newspaper’s integrity.
Davidson reminisces about Bezos’s acquisition of The Post, recalling the much-needed capital, vitality, and leadership that Bezos contributed to the organization. This appreciation, however, is clearly tainted by the recent developments and disappointments that led to Davidson’s resignation.
Throughout the past year, The Washington Post has found itself the subject of public criticism on multiple occasions. Many of these instances were linked back to decisions originating from Jeff Bezos, leading to an aura of discontentment within the organization and triggering a wave of resignations. This trend has stirred anxiety regarding the future editorial trajectory of the newspaper.