Ex-Washington Post chief blasts 'gutless' Bezos as paper rocked by major layoffs
Marty Baron, the former executive editor of The Washington Post, took direct aim at its owner Jeff Bezos on Wednesday as the paper announced sweeping layoffs.
"This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations," Baron said in a statement posted to social media. "The Washington Post’s ambitions will be sharply diminished, its talented and brave staff will be further depleted, and the public will be denied the ground-level, fact-based reporting in our communities and around the world that is needed more than ever."
Baron acknowledged "acute business problems" and the "severely disruptive" period of the media landscape, saying "radical innovation is required."
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"The Post’s challenges, however, were made infinitely worse by ill-conceived decisions that came from the very top —from a gutless order to kill a presidential endorsement 11 days before the 2024 election to a remake of the editorial page that now stands out only for its moral infirmity," Baron wrote. "Loyal readers, livid as they saw owner Jeff Bezos betraying the values he was supposed to uphold, fled The Post. In truth, they were driven away, by the hundreds of thousands."
He continued, "The owner, in a note to readers, wrote that he aimed to boost trust in The Post. The effect was something else entirely: Subscribers lost trust in his stewardship and, notwithstanding the newsroom’s stellar journalism, The Post overall. Similarly, many leading journalists at The Post lost confidence in Bezos, and jumped to other news organizations. They also, in effect, were driven away. Bezos’s sickening efforts to curry favor with President Trump have left an especially ugly stain of their own. This is a case study in near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction."
Baron went on to say he was grateful for Bezos' "steadfast support" when he led the paper as its executive editor from 2013-2021, saying Bezos "came under brutal pressure from Trump" but "spoke forcefully and eloquently of a free press and The Post's mission."
"I wish I detected the same spirit today. There is no sign of it," Baron said. "Like many others, I’d like to hear the owner and the publisher he appointed articulate a contemporary vision that offers the prospect of financial stability and growth, demonstrates imagination and creativity, honors the heritage of The Post, shows appreciation for its remarkable staff and signals a firm sense of purpose. It is years overdue."
The Washington Post did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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The "Democracy Dies in Darkness" paper announced sweeping layoffs Wednesday with entire departments being shuttered in what the company is calling a "significant restructuring."
The Post is shuttering the sports desk in its current form, dialing back its international footprint, making its Metro section more "nimble and focused" and eliminating its Books section. A third of the company has been affected, Fox News Digital has learned.
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.