Washington Post staff begs Jeff Bezos to visit newsroom and restore ‘trust that has been lost’
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’This is about retaining our competitive edge, restoring trust that has been lost, and reestablishing a relationship with leadership based on open communication,’ the petition, which was sent to Bezos on Wednesday, reads. Over 400 Washington Post journalists have signed a blistering petition demanding owner Jeff Bezos visit the newspaper’s office to restore “trust that has been lost,” leading “readers to question the integrity of this institution.”.
![[While the Post’s rivals poach the paper’s most prized reporters, Lewis has been unable to convince top editors to stay or come aboard to help reverse the “doom loop” that appears to be engulfing the paper]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/05/01/WASHINGTON_POST-VI%C3%91ETA-RENUNCIA_68860.jpg)
The letter, which was sent to the mega-billionaire on Wednesday and obtained by The Independent, comes as the venerable paper has suffered a mass exodus of reporters and readers following Bezos’s decision to scuttle the editorial board’s presidential endorsement of Kamala Harris.
Since the blocked endorsement, the Post has reportedly lost at least 250,000 subscribers. That controversy was soon followed by Bezos seemingly cozying up to President-elect Donald Trump, which included his company Amazon making a $1 million donation to Trump’s inauguration fund and licensing a documentary about Melania Trump for $40 million. Bezos, meanwhile, is scheduled to sit alongside Trump’s cabinet nominees at next week’s inauguration.
“You recently wrote that ensuring the long-term success and editorial independence of this newspaper is essential,” the petition to Bezos reads. “We agree, and we believe you take as much pride in The Washington Post as we do.”. Noting that they are “deeply alarmed by recent leadership decisions that have led readers to question the integrity of this institution,” the staff added that the paper had “broken with a tradition of transparency” that resulted in many of “their most distinguished colleagues to leave” and more departures to come.
