Washington Post, LA Times are killing support for VP Harris

Due to recent events, billionaire media owners Jeff Bezos and Patrick Soon-Shiong have reportedly paused their planned promotions of Vice President Kamala Harris at their newspapers, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times.

Their decisions irritated not only the general public but in addition their very own employees.

According to Robert Kagan, a longtime columnist for this newspaper and editor-in-chief of the Post’s opinion section, he resigned in protest and a gaggle of 11 Washington Post columnists wrote a letter critical of the newspaper’s decision.

Meanwhile, The Post’s publisher and CEO, William Lewis, said in a column published Oct. 25 that the choice to not endorse Harris is a return to the newspaper’s roots of not endorsing a selected candidate.

“We know this will be perceived in many ways, including as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, a condemnation of another, or an abdication of responsibility,” Lewis wrote. “It’s inevitable. We don’t see it that way. We consider that is consistent with the values ​​The Post has all the time stood for.

Indeed, in line with Jarvis DeBerry, opinion editor at , the alternatives made by Lewis, Bezos and Soon-Shiong are “an argument against billionaires buying newspapers”

Like Kagan on the Post, Mariel Garza, editorial editor on the Los Angeles Times, resigned in protest. Garza later said, “I’m resigning because I want to make it clear that I don’t like our silence. In dangerous times, honest people must stand up. This is how I stand.”

In addition to Garza, two more opinion editors at The LA Times also resigned over the choice to finish their endorsement of Harris.

Marty Baron, former editor-in-chief of The Washington Post, responded scathingly to Lewis’ statement on Twitter. “This is cowardice, the victim of which is democracy,” Baron wrote.

Baron indicated that Trump would “take this as an invitation to further intimidate” Bezos, and Baron characterised the choice to withdraw support as “a disturbing lack of spine in an institution renowned for courage.”

DeBerry concluded his comments by indicting the ultra-wealthy owners of each newspapers.

“Yes, there would be hell to pay if the newspaper supported Harris’ victory and Trump then turned on the press as he promised,” DeBerry wrote.

He continued: “But vulnerable people are much more likely to face hell. “It is inexcusable that the ultra-wealthy who have purchased these massive and influential platforms appear to care more about their own interests than the interests of the readers they serve.”

In addition to Baron, The Washington Post Guild, the union representing The Post’s journalists, issued a press release regarding Lewis’ comments.

“We are deeply concerned that The Washington Post, an American news organization based within the nation’s capital, will determine to stop supporting presidential candidates, especially just 11 days before a critical election. The editorial board’s role is to do exactly that: to share our views on news that impacts our society and culture, and to support candidates who will help readers,” the guild wrote.

They continued: “The message from our chief executive, Will Lewis, rather than from the newsroom itself, raises our concerns that management has interfered with the work of our members in the newsroom. According to our reporters and Guild members, an endorsement draft for Harris has already been drafted and the decision not to publish was made by The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos. We are already seeing churn from once-loyal readers. This decision undermines the work of our members at a time when we should be building the trust of our readers, not losing it.”