I don't read the opinion section because you can get opinions anywhere and there are better blogs on Substack. The news reporting in the Washington Post seems as good as ever, as far as I can tell.
2OEH8eoCRo0 · 2h ago
> "These are dangerous times. Never have so many people had access to so much knowledge, and yet been so resistant to learning anything."
- Tom Nichols, The Death of Expertise
cyanydeez · 5h ago
The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
To your context, it simply means you havent seen bias in the facts, but dont evaluate the completeness thereof.
togetheragainor · 2h ago
That’s very dismissive of the person you’re replying to.
Animats · 6h ago
The second Opinion unit, for outside submissions, is the Amazon reseller concept applied to news. It's why you can't buy anything important on Amazon any more.
There are very few American newspapers left that have actual reporters in the field. The New York Times and the Washington Post are almost the only ones left.
The result is that most stories begin from some press release. Look at the Washington Post right now.
- "Trump, European Union reach trade deal with 15% tariffs" - from a press release.
- "Israel to let more aid trucks into Gaza, under pressure over hunger crisis
Israel said..." - press release
- "Denied federal flood relief, a Maryland town is left on its own" - actual reporter coverage of regional news.
- "Trump’s imaginary numbers, from $1.99 gas to 1,500 percent price cuts" - desk work, rehash of existing info.
For most other newspapers, it's even worse. Few if any boots on the ground.
"News is what someone doesn't want published. All else is publicity"
mensetmanusman · 2h ago
The economics of journalism was killed with craigslist and has only gotten worse as the Internet has matured.
It is not the fourth branch of government anymore.
Animats · 55m ago
It's amazing that Craigslist killed the profitability of newspapers, and at such low cost.
Somebody should do that for social media.
skybrian · 6h ago
One difference between actual journalists and people who just post their opinions on the Internet is that journalists will make phone calls. Even when they don’t talk to people in person, that’s still valuable.
thepryz · 4h ago
More importantly, true journalists follow the "no surprises" rule and contact the subject to allow them to hear what will be reported, respond to questions, and provide additional information or context that could inform the story.
A lot of people claim to be journalists and yet lack a fundamental understanding of journalistic principles and best practices.
PaulHoule · 5h ago
Bari Weiss and Paul Krugman wouldn't agree on almost anything but they agree it's a better life to be writing for Substack than for the NYT.
I enjoy reading Krugman so much now because he seems to be having so much fun now that he doesn't have the weight of the New York Times editors on him.
skybrian · 4h ago
Which articles would you recommend? I used to like his writing way back when he wrote for Slate.
Purchasing The Washington Post is a Day-Two move. Destined to lose.
thepryz · 4h ago
Everything Bezos, Jassy and Amazon have been doing in the last ~5 years has been Day 2.Despite this, I think the question to ask is what was the real motivation for Jeff being the Post and what does success look like in that context.
If the goal was to have more control over the narrative in this country and influence news reporting and public opinion in support of Jeff's ambitions, I think there's an argument to be made that he's accomplishing that as we speak.
SilverElfin · 15m ago
Day 2?
roxolotl · 5m ago
Bezos likes to describe Amazon as a “Day 1 Company” where you should approach every day like it’s your first day.
“Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. And that is why it is always Day 1.”
> Despite this, I think the question to ask is what was the real motivation for Jeff being the Post and what does success look like in that context.
My hunch is it was due to Amazon's attempt to win a majority of the work in the JEDI tender.
WashPo was bought during the height of the JEDI tender, along with Bezos's shift in domicile to Washington DC, Amazon HQ2, and Amazon's opening of the Crystal City and expansion of the Reston city campus all happened during that tender.
dimal · 6h ago
Weird that it doesn’t mention Trump. He and Bezos were at odds until Bezos gave him $1M for the inauguration and decided to neuter the Post’s opinion section. Then all threats of antitrust against Amazon magically went away. Bezos probably had to trash the Post to save Amazon. The loss is a drop in the bucket to him.
dotcoma · 5h ago
Agree. But even completely losing Amazon — which would have never happened anyway — would have been a drop in the bucket at this point.
Funny how you grow to become the richest or second-richest man in the world, only to kiss ass to a bully.
_rm · 3h ago
He knows the bully only gets to bully for a fixed term - after that he keeps what he has
diddid · 5h ago
Rich people have been paying off politicians forever, Trump isn’t the first, and he won’t be the last. Back the winner until the winner is the loser, then back the new winner, repeat. AKA the king is dead long live the king!
dotcoma · 5h ago
True, but what is surprising to me is that not even Bezos’ kind of wealth will get him off the hook.
mensetmanusman · 2h ago
Yeah I always find it fascinating, like when billionaire LeBron James kept his mouth shut about suppression and minority imprisonment in China.
PaulHoule · 8h ago
The "why" is pretty obvious. Bezos is intimidated by Trump. Under Trump 1 he changed the paper's masthead to "Democracy Dies in Darkness", like out of Batman.
If you look at Russia, you see being an oligarch is particularly dangerous in an authoritarian society. You fall out of a window. You can't get permits for anything, your contracts get canceled. Some average rando can be part of the #resistance and not face consequences because nobody cares but if you are that visible you're vulnerable.
aeternum · 3h ago
He's more likely intimidated or at least discouraged by the party that declares they want to eliminate billionaires and capitalists.
queenkjuul · 1h ago
Which party is that?
rs186 · 3h ago
> Over the last year the Post has been involved in almost monthly car wrecks
I mean, unless the subscription number is way down or revenue has dropped significantly (which the article does not seem to mention), none of this matters, which is exactly what Bezos wants.
scoreandmore · 6h ago
Yes.
jeroenvlek · 6h ago
Exactly.
VivaTechnics · 8h ago
By accident
bediger4000 · 8h ago
Agreed. He seems to think that people want to pay to be lectured about "personal freedom and liberty", and should take election advice from him, an oligarch.
vFunct · 8h ago
Yep. He has no idea what he's doing in media, or much else really (outside of AWS)
- Tom Nichols, The Death of Expertise
To your context, it simply means you havent seen bias in the facts, but dont evaluate the completeness thereof.
There are very few American newspapers left that have actual reporters in the field. The New York Times and the Washington Post are almost the only ones left. The result is that most stories begin from some press release. Look at the Washington Post right now.
- "Trump, European Union reach trade deal with 15% tariffs" - from a press release.
- "Israel to let more aid trucks into Gaza, under pressure over hunger crisis Israel said..." - press release
- "Denied federal flood relief, a Maryland town is left on its own" - actual reporter coverage of regional news.
- "Trump’s imaginary numbers, from $1.99 gas to 1,500 percent price cuts" - desk work, rehash of existing info.
For most other newspapers, it's even worse. Few if any boots on the ground.
"News is what someone doesn't want published. All else is publicity"
It is not the fourth branch of government anymore.
Somebody should do that for social media.
A lot of people claim to be journalists and yet lack a fundamental understanding of journalistic principles and best practices.
I enjoy reading Krugman so much now because he seems to be having so much fun now that he doesn't have the weight of the New York Times editors on him.
I particularly enjoyed this bit of nihilism:
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/enshittification-and-the-...
>Hell hath no fury like a tech god scorned
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-washington-post-is-dying-je...
If the goal was to have more control over the narrative in this country and influence news reporting and public opinion in support of Jeff's ambitions, I think there's an argument to be made that he's accomplishing that as we speak.
“Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. And that is why it is always Day 1.”
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/2016-letter-to...
My hunch is it was due to Amazon's attempt to win a majority of the work in the JEDI tender.
WashPo was bought during the height of the JEDI tender, along with Bezos's shift in domicile to Washington DC, Amazon HQ2, and Amazon's opening of the Crystal City and expansion of the Reston city campus all happened during that tender.
Funny how you grow to become the richest or second-richest man in the world, only to kiss ass to a bully.
If you look at Russia, you see being an oligarch is particularly dangerous in an authoritarian society. You fall out of a window. You can't get permits for anything, your contracts get canceled. Some average rando can be part of the #resistance and not face consequences because nobody cares but if you are that visible you're vulnerable.
I mean, unless the subscription number is way down or revenue has dropped significantly (which the article does not seem to mention), none of this matters, which is exactly what Bezos wants.