[Kale Carey]
A POLITICAL COLUMNIST AND ASSOCIATE EDITOR WHO WORKED AT THE WASHINGTON POST FOR FOUR DECADES RESIGNED FOLLOWING THE PAPER’S DECISION TO REPORTEDLY NOT RUN HER OPINION ARTICLE … CRITICAL OF OWNER JEFF BEZO’S LATEST CHANGES TO THE NEWS OUTLET.
IN RUTH MARCUS’S RESIGNATION LETTER OBTAINED BY THE NEW YORK TIMES … SHE SAID “IT BREAKS MY HEART TO CONCLUDE THAT I MUST LEAVE” ADDING HER DECISION… “UNDERSCORES THAT THE TRADITIONAL FREEDOM OF COLUMNISTS TO SELECT THE TOPICS THEY WISH TO ADDRESS AND SAY WHAT THEY THINK HAS BEEN DANGEROUSLY ERODED.”
WHILE IT’S NOT CLEAR EXACTLY WHAT MARCUS WROTE IN THE OPINION PIECE, SHE SAID THE POST’S PUBLISHER, WILL LEWIS, DECLINED TO RUN THE COLUMN ADDING IT WAS THE FIRST TIME IN NEARLY 20 YEARS OF WRITING COLUMNS SHE HAD ONE REJECTED.
LAST MONTH, BEZOS ANNOUNCED THE POST WOULD NARROW THE TOPICS COVERED BY ITS OPINION SECTION TO “PERSONAL LIBERTIES AND THE FREE MARKET” – ISSUING A DIRECTIVE THE PAPER WOULD NOT PRINT OPPOSING VIEWS.
MORE THAN 75-THOUSAND DIGITAL SUBSCRIBERS CANCELED IN THE 48 HOURS AFTER THE POLICY CHANGE, WHICH ALSO SAW THE RESIGNATION OF OPINIONS EDITOR DAVID SHIPLEY.
NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNIST DAVID FRENCH POSTED TO X FOLLOWING THE NEWS OF MARCUS LEAVING … “I FREQUENTLY DISAGREE WITH RUTH MARCUS, BUT I’VE NEVER QUESTIONED HER INTEGRITY. THIS IS A SAD DAY FOR POST. I HAVE PROFOUND RESPECT FOR HER DECISION TO RESIGN.”
POLITICAL COMMENTATOR “ALAN F JUNIOR” ALSO POSTED TO X …
“I DON’T THINK JOURNALISM IS DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER JOB IN RESTRICTING PUBLIC CRITICISM OF YOUR BOSS ON THE COMPANY DOLLAR.”
A POST SPOKESPERSON SAID MONDAY “WE’RE GRATEFUL FOR RUTH’S SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WASHINGTON POST OVER THE PAST 40 YEARS. WE RESPECT HER DECISION TO LEAVE AND WISH HER THE BEST.”
THE POST HAS BEEN STRUGGLING IN RECENT YEARS WITH SEVERAL OTHER PROMINENT JOURNALISTS LEAVING OVER BEZO’S CHANGES TO THE PAPER … INCLUDING HIS DECISION TO NOT ENDORSE A CANDIDATE IN NOVEMBER’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AFTER THE STAFF HAD PREPARED TO SUPPORT DEMOCRAT KAMALA HARRIS – A MOVE THAT ALSO LED TO A MASS EXODUS OF SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR SAN, I’M KALÉ CAREY.
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