Adam O'Neal, a correspondent from The Economist, is the Washington Post's next opinion editor. He'll be implementing owner Jeff Bezos's directive to champion "personal liberties and free markets" and made clear that this means an "unapologetically patriotic" section that uses "technology to improve our journalism."
If this suggests an awful lot of reactionary AI slop, well, sure, welcome to 2025, how was the coma?
The Post's opinion section has been in tumult for much of the past year. Just before the presidential election in November, The Post ended its tradition of endorsing presidential candidates, a decision that drew outcry from readers and several members of the opinion staff. Soon after, The Post's Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, Ann Telnaes, quit after a cartoon critical of Mr. Bezos was spiked. Next came Mr. Shipley's departure, another jolt to the staff.
Telnaes won a Pulitzer immediately following that imbroglio. How many will O'Neal's chatbots pick up? The point, one supposes, is that no-one cares.
Previously:
• 'Lives found ended': Washington Post unveils new euphemism to avoid naming the dead or the ender
• Slop-eds: Washington Post to use AI editor for opinion page content
• Editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigns from The Washington Post when her cartoon criticizing Bezos is killed
• Bezos breaks his favorite toy: Ruth Marcus bails after 40 years at The Washington Post
• Jeff Bezos announces Washington Post to promote 'personal liberties and free markets'
