All articles tagged with #jeff bezos
Seattle’s NFL team is officially on the market with the Paul Allen estate hiring Allen & Co. and Latham & Watkins to manage the sale, but Jeff Bezos is not pursuing a bid despite earlier interest in owning an NFL franchise.
Robert Kuttner argues that the Washington Post’s 30% layoffs under owner Jeff Bezos threaten democracy by eroding independent journalism. He contends legacy ownership is unreliable and proposes a Guardian-like nonprofit trust to sustain a national daily, citing The Guardian and the Baltimore Banner as practical models and urging philanthropic funding to create a nonprofit DC-based national newspaper.
Howard Kurtz argues that Bezos’s ownership has hollowed The Washington Post through mass layoffs, editorial realignments, and profit‑driven decisions, leaving it a shell of its former self and suggesting selling the paper could offer a path to revival.
Billionaire Jeff Bezos ousted Washington Post CEO Will Lewis after Lewis attended the NFL Honors red carpet the day after the paper announced layoffs that gutted about 300 newsroom roles, including the sports department. Insiders said Bezos lost patience, and Lewis faced heavy criticism for not addressing the cuts; Lewis announced his departure two years into the tenure, with CFO Jeff D’Onofrio named interim CEO. Post union members protested, and Bezos publicly framed the move as a continuation of the paper’s essential mission.
MacKenzie Scott donated $59 million to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) on Jan. 30, continuing a sustained philanthropy that also included a $45 million gift to The Trevor Project earlier in January. The piece notes she gave $7.1 billion to nonprofits in 2025 and that, after her divorce, her net worth is about $32.5 billion, while Jeff Bezos’s is around $230.2 billion. The article also references a legal dispute involving Lauren Sánchez’s brother.
Will Lewis resigns as Washington Post publisher three days after the paper laid off about one-third of its newsroom staff, saying it’s time to step aside after two years of transformation. Jeff D'Onofrio, the CFO and former Tumblr CEO, will become acting publisher as the Post reorganizes—slashing foreign coverage and several sections, with executive editor Matt Murray noting the changes aim to strengthen the paper amid a tech-driven news era, and Bezos thanked for his support.
Will Lewis steps down as The Washington Post’s CEO/publisher after two turbulent years that included a roughly 30% staff purge, with Jeff Bezos signaling a leadership reset and interim CEO Jeff D’Onofrio taking over as replacement as staff react with anger and questions about the paper’s direction and Lewis’s tenure amid past controversies.
The Washington Post announced a roughly one‑third staff reduction, including about 300 newsroom jobs, amid accusations that owner Jeff Bezos steered editorial direction and undermined the paper’s audience after a 2024 decision not to endorse Kamala Harris. Critics argue subscription declines and revenue pain reflect billionaire‑owned media prioritizing political alignment over journalism, a pattern echoed at the Los Angeles Times and CBS News, with broader implications for press independence as corporate mergers, government contracts, and personal politics shape coverage.
Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray defends sweeping layoffs as a necessary cost reset for financial stability, while signaling a shift to data-driven, reader-centric coverage focused on politics, national security, culture, and health/wellness, and away from sports and arts; he discusses Will Lewis’s role, internal tensions, and a meeting with owner Jeff Bezos.
Bezos’ ownership of the Washington Post has led to a cutting of about a third of the newsroom, following years of editorial interventions, which sparked protests from the Post Guild, tightened subscriber losses, and sparked concerns that the paper’s independence and credibility are eroding as the U.S. news industry shrinks.
An opinion piece arguing that Jeff Bezos has weakened the Washington Post by aligning with Trump and cutting newsroom staff, threatening the paper’s independence and its role as a check on power; the author calls for Bezos to sell the paper to an owner willing to defend democracy and newsroom integrity.
Under Jeff Bezos, The Washington Post laid off about 300 newsroom staff (roughly 30%), shuttering the Books department, suspending Post Reports, and cutting the sports and international desks as digital revenue and subscriptions weaken. The cuts follow a period of investment and policy shifts—such as moving away from endorsements—that critics say undermined editorial independence and spurred subscriber losses, though longtime Post journalists say reporting will continue, just with fewer resources.
The Washington Post laid off nearly a third of its staff in one of the largest rounds of cuts in U.S. newspaper history, gutting major desks from sports to world news and signaling a shift toward a leaner, politics-focused operation. Editor Matt Murray says the newsroom has a plan to survive and thrive, while former editor Marty Baron warns the cuts could depress ambition and trigger a subscriber decline. The upheaval comes amid political headwinds and questions about Bezos’s ownership priorities, raising concerns about the paper’s future strategy as it competes with Politico and Axios.
Bezos remains supportive of The Washington Post as it conducts sweeping layoffs that cut roughly a third of staff, including hundreds in the newsroom. Editor-in-chief Matt Murray says Bezos backs reinvention and a path to profitability, while insisting the owner does not interfere with news coverage. The staff reductions have intensified questions about the paper’s future and whether Bezos might sell, though Murray and others argue the Post can still pursue aggressive reporting and growth.
The Washington Post announced a broad round of layoffs expected to cut hundreds of newsroom staff, signaling a strategic reset under owner Jeff Bezos and raising questions about profitability and digital-era sustainability for the publication; the cuts will affect local, international and sports coverage.