It’s appropriate that I should revive this site for the first time in years to post about politics, I guess. We are entering dangerous waters as a nation. That’s why Bezos’s decision and editorial this past week was one more disappointment on top of so many others. I was sketching out an articulation of why the piece bothered me even more than the LA Times situation. Luckily for you you don’t need to read my writing. Casey Newton wrote a wonderful piece on the issue, which you should go read. It’s spot on - Jeff Bezos is stuck at Day 2 with the Post:
Yesterday, I explored how billionaires are thinking about their relationships with Donald Trump on the eve of the election. Just before I hit send, Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos responded to criticism that he had prevented his editorial board from publishing its endorsement of Kamala Harris. It’s a piece of writing notable for how dated its thinking is for a famously forward-thinking entrepreneur. And to borrow a phrase from Amazon, it’s a recipe for a media industry that remains stuck squarely in Day 2.
Worth reading the whole thing. The “view from nowhere” is poison when more and more audiences are turning to social media, clearly partisan voices, and spaces devoid of any cognitive dissonance. Of course faux neutral is not going to help.