Can Kara Save The Washington Post From Jeff Bezos?

167 snips

Mar 3, 2025

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This discussion features Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, alongside influential figures like Sally Quinn, a former Washington Post columnist; Tina Brown, accomplished media executive; Oliver Darcy, media commentator; and Amanda Katz, former opinion editor. They dive into the controversial editorial decisions at The Washington Post, particularly under Bezos's ownership, and the growing concern over journalistic integrity. The panel reflects on the exodus of talent and debates the challenges of maintaining accountability journalism in today's polarized media landscape.

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INSIGHT

The Importance of Editors

Tina Brown emphasizes the crucial role of editors in supporting writers, highlighting Bezos's reported undervaluing of editors.
She suggests his lack of understanding of journalism's intricacies is a key issue.

ANECDOTE

Blodgett's Advice on Survival

Henry Blodgett suggests The Post must define its unique value proposition to survive.
He notes Bezos wants to move the paper towards the middle but acknowledges the challenge of such a shift.

INSIGHT

The Post's Past Success

Laura Blumenfeld attributes The Post's past success to its "balls" and focus on connecting with readers.
She contrasts this with the current environment, which she perceives as more focused on division.

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For months, Kara has been assembling a group of investors to buy The Washington Post. Although it's not actually for sale, an ongoing exodus of journalistic talent, combined with Bezos's decision to kill an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris days before the 2024 presidential election, made it both plausible that Bezos might entertain a bid and crucial that someone step forward. Now, after watching Bezos remake the opinion section in ways that seem designed to curry favor with President Trump, the chances of persuading him to sell seem increasingly remote.

Nonetheless, Kara’s quixotic quest continues, and in this episode, she talks to some of the people she’s turned to for advice, including: Cameron Barr, a former senior managing editor at the Post who resigned in the wake of the new changes; Tina Brown, a pioneering journalist and media executive who has led multiple publications, including Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Newsweek, and The Daily Beast; Oliver Darcy, a former CNN senior media reporter and currently the founder and lead author of Status.news; Sally Quinn, the first woman to anchor a CBS News morning show, and a best-selling author, and longtime Post columnist who was married to the late Ben Bradlee, a legendary executive editor at the Post; and Amanda Katz, a writer, editor and translator who worked as a senior assignment editor for the opinion section of the Post until she resigned last year (and wife to Kara Swisher).

And make sure to watch "Becoming Katharine Graham," a new documentary about the former Post publisher's extraordinary life and journalistic courage (now streaming, ironically enough, on Amazon Prime).

CORRECTION: In the intro, Kara incorrectly stated that Jeff Bezos hired Marty Baron. In fact, Baron became the executive editor of The Washington Post in January 2013, and Bezos completed his purchase of the newspaper in October 2013. We apologize for the error.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Instagram, TikTok and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher

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