Jeff Bezos Defends Washington Post Decision To Not Endorse In 2024 Presidential Race, Says “No Quid Pro Quo Of Any Kind Is At Work Here”

deadline.com:

The Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos defended the decision of the publication not endorse in the 2024 presidential race, acknowledging that “inadequate planning” and not some “intentional strategy” was to blame for creating a backlash. “I would also like to be clear that no quid pro quo of any kind is at work here,” Bezos wrote in an op ed in the Post this evening. “Neither campaign nor candidate was consulted or informed at any level or in any way about this decision.” Bezos instead said that the decision was motivated by a desire to “increase our credibility,” pointing to low trust in the media in a recent Gallup poll.

He wrote, “Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election. No undecided voters in Pennsylvania are going to say, ‘I’m going with Newspaper A’s endorsement.’ None.

What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one.” The non-endorsement has led to the resignations of a handful of staff members and to a subscriber revolt.

According to NPR, more than 200,000 have cancelled their digital subscriptions since the decision was announced on Friday. Bezos was criticized by figures such as Martin Baron, the former executive editor, who called it “cowardice, with democracy as its casualty.” The decision was criticized as an effort by Bezos to try to win favor with Donald Trump — given that the Post was ready to endorse Kamala Harris.