The Washington Post currently runs opinion pieces from a variety of perspectives, but today owner Jeff Bezos announced that it would instead "be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets." David Shipley, the current Opinion Editor there, has "decided to step away."
I shared this note with the Washington Post team this morning:
I'm writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages.
We are going to be writing every clay in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We'll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.
There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader's doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views. Today, the internet does that job.
I am of America and for America, and proud to be so. Our country did not get here by being typical. And a big part of America's success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion and practical it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity.
I offered David Shipley, whom I greatly admire, the opportunity to lead this new chapter. I suggested to him that if the answer wasn't "hell yes," then it had to be "no:' After careful consideration, David decided to step away. This is a significant shift, it won't be easy, and it will require 100% commitment — I respect his decision. We'll be searching for a new Opinion Editor to own this new direction.
I'm confident that free markets and personal liberties are right for America. I also believe these viewpoints are underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion. I'm excited for us together to fill that void.
Given Bezos' wealth and his obeisant approach to President Trump, "personal liberties" and "free markets" may be presumed to euphemize discrimination, deregulation and declining to tax the rich. The excitement of finding out awaits, but reporters there are assuming the end of any firewall between the new opinion regime and the editorial newswriting:
