Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are the most famous reporters who ever worked for the Washington Post. Their fame came from investigating Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal.
Now the pair have denounced the Washington Post over its decision to not endorse a presidential candidate. They lay the fault — as most do — at the feet of owner Jeff Bezos and publisher Will Lewis. The Post decision came after the same one from the Los Angeles Times.
Both the Post and Times have been met with intense criticism and canceled subscriptions. Billionaire owners censoring the editorial direction of a newspaper isn’t new, but it’s the single worst they could do; the editors’ acquiescence is an example of monumental cowardice In the case of the Post, the late Katherine Graham is no doubt turning in her grave.
Woodward and Bernstein wrote (and I’ve added paragraph breaks for easier reading):
“We respect the traditional independence of the editorial page, but this decision 11 days out from the 2024 presidential election ignores the Washington Post’s own overwhelming reportorial evidence on the threat Donald Trump poses to democracy.
“Under Jeff Bezos’s ownership, the Washington Post’s news operation has used its abundant resources to rigorously investigate the danger and damage a second Trump presidency could cause to the future of American democracy and that makes this decision even more surprising and disappointing, especially this late in the electoral process.”
