Billionaire ownership of newspapers incites political controversy

by The Charger Account Editorial Board Nov 15, 2024

Amazon reigns as the world’s largest e-commerce and technology conglomerate. The Washington Post is the United States’s third-largest newspaper by print and digital readership. Both businesses are, surprisingly, owned by the same billionaire: Jeff Bezos. 

In August 2013, Bezos purchased The Washington Post for $250 million. While initially playing an active role, he became relatively removed until last month, when he made a decision that caused the newspaper to lose over 10% of its subscriptions. 

On Oct. 25, The Washington Post’s publisher and chief executive officer William Lewis published a column stating that the newspaper would not endorse a candidate in the presidential election, despite having done so every election for the past 36 years. While Lewis stressed that this decision upheld the newspaper’s mission and was made without any outside influence, the fact that three editorial board members and over 250,000 readers canceled their subscriptions suggests a deeper motivation is at play. 

Readers held divided opinions after the controversy; some believed that newspapers should not endorse candidates in the first place and commended The Washington Post’s decision. In fact, on Oct. 29, YouGov published a poll of 6030 Americans, revealing that 47% believed that newspapers should not endorse political candidates. However, others pulled their subscriptions, calling out the billionaire behind the paper.

Newspapers are meant to be unbiased sources of truth. However, all prominent newspapers today lie somewhere on the political bias spectrum. Editorials are meant to consolidate and showcase the shared political views behind a publication, so abruptly removing the precedent of presidential endorsements puts Bezos’s control over The Washington Post under suspicion—especially since an endorsement for Harris was already in progress before the cancellation drafted.

Billionaires seek to maintain relations with politicians in order to receive corporate tax benefits. In fact, The Guardian reported that a surge in the stock market added $64 billion to the wallets of the world’s ten wealthiest people—including Bezos—after they publicly commended Donald Trump for his victory on Nov. 7. When billionaires' leverage extends into public media, they are given the power to cloud the path of free press with their own political biases and financial interests, breaking years of precedent all in the name of lining their pockets.

The Washington Post’s motto is “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”

Ironic, considering the looming darkness Bezos and other billionaires have smothered public media with. With a new president in office soon, these ties further risk censorship and political control over journalism, harming the ideals of truth and liberty that it stands to uphold.  

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