Today, 8 hours later, they are taking it in the shorts...A debate inside The Washington Post continued for days among its top leaders: Should it make an endorsement in the presidential race, continuing a decades-long tradition?
In the end, Jeff Bezos, the paper’s billionaire owner, decided that the answer was no.
On Friday, Will Lewis, The Post’s chief executive, told the newsroom that the paper would no longer endorse presidential candidates. His announcement came after the debate and decision by Mr. Bezos, a person with knowledge of the talks said. By that time, the paper’s opinion section had drafted an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, according to four people with knowledge of the process.
“The Washington Post will not be making an endorsement of a presidential candidate in this election,” Mr. Lewis wrote in a note to the staff. “Nor in any future presidential election. We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates.”
And this:
The first prominent journalist, editor-at-large Robert Kagan, resigned Friday in response to the decision, Semafor first reported. But there may be more: “people are shocked, furious, surprised,” said an editorial board member, citing internal discussions around resignation. “If you don’t have the balls to own a newspaper, don’t.”
