- More than 400 Washington Post staffers are urging Jeff Bezos to meet with the paper’s leaders.
- The letter says integrity and transparency issues have caused staff departures.
- The Post has faced subscriber losses and leadership scrutiny under CEO Will Lewis.
More than 400 Washington Post staffers sent a letter to the paper’s owner, Jeff Bezos, asking him to intervene after a year of crises.
The letter asked Bezos, who has owned the paper since 2013, to come to the Post and meet with its leaders.
“We are deeply alarmed by recent leadership decisions that have led readers to question the integrity of this institution, broken with a tradition of transparency, and prompted some of our most distinguished colleagues to leave, with more departures imminent,” the letter says. “This goes far beyond the issue of the presidential endorsement, which we recognize as the owner’s prerogative. This is about retaining our competitive edge, restoring trust that has been lost, and reestablishing a relationship with leadership based on open communication.”
One newsroom insider called it notable for its representation of non-union as well as union signatories.
“It ratchets up the pressure,” said this person, who, like some others, spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely about internal matters. Their identity is known to Business Insider.
Since Bezos bought the paper, the Amazon executive chairman has had regular meetings with the business side but largely stayed out of the news coverage.
“From the very beginning, he told us he wouldn’t be involved in any way in the newsroom, or be a hands-on owner,” the Post insider said. “Our Amazon coverage has been aggressive, and he’s never pushed back. I think the plea now is to get him involved now to establish some leadership in the newsroom.”
The Post has been battered by a string of recent crises under Will Lewis, its publisher and CEO. NPR reported that the outlet lost a significant number of subscribers after announcing — just days before the US presidential election in November — that it wouldn’t endorse a candidate. That decision broke with 40 years of tradition and happened after a Kamala Harris endorsement had been planned.
Bezos later explained the decision in an opinion column, saying many people believe the media is biased and presidential endorsements don’t help.
A second Post insider, who is familiar with the subscription numbers, said the paper had won back at least 20% of the subscriptions it lost after the endorsement situation. They said nearly three-fourths of those people who canceled are still using the site while their subscriptions remain active.
Since the endorsement controversy, a number of high-profile newsroom figures have defected. They include a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist, who quit after the paper declined to publish her cartoon that portrayed Bezos and other media and tech CEOs sucking up to a statue of President-elect Donald Trump.
A third Post insider described a nihilistic feeling at the company amid the talent exodus. They said they felt it would be hard for the paper to move forward under Bezos’ ownership in a second Trump administration, given credibility issues with some left-leaning readers.
“A lot of really good institutions are going to have a really hard time in the Trump administration, from higher education to journalism,” this person said. “And I think the Post, in part because of our own doing, is one of the first to have its walls shook really, really hard.”
Lewis earlier faced scrutiny when he replaced the top editor, Sally Buzbee, in 2024, and then his choice of replacement backed out. He also faced questions over his actions during the aftermath of a UK phone-hacking scandal.
Not all Post staffers are in agreement with the petition. Another staffer, sports columnist Sally Jenkins, said the Post’s biggest problem is the underlying business challenges facing it and other legacy media.
“I think the Post is in the middle of trying to find solutions, and it takes a lot of time,” she said. “Would I love it if Jeff Bezos came to the newsroom? Sure. I just think things are much more complicated than, ‘Oh, things will be fine if Jeff Bezos comes in and talks to some editors.'”
Like many other news outlets, the paper has struggled on the revenue side. Last week, it began laying off 4% of staff on the business side, Reuters reported.
Here’s the full text of the letter:
To Jeff Bezos:
You recently wrote that ensuring the long-term success and editorial independence of this newspaper is essential. We agree, and we believe you take as much pride in The Washington Post as we do.
We are deeply alarmed by recent leadership decisions that have led readers to question the integrity of this institution, broken with a tradition of transparency, and prompted some of our most distinguished colleagues to leave, with more departures imminent. This goes far beyond the issue of the presidential endorsement, which we recognize as the owner’s prerogative. This is about retaining our competitive edge, restoring trust that has been lost, and reestablishing a relationship with leadership based on open communication.
We urge you to come to our office and meet with Post leaders, as you have in the past, about what has been happening at The Post. We understand the need for change, and we are eager to deliver the news in innovative ways. But we need a clear vision we can believe in.
We are committed to pursuing independent journalism that holds power to account and to reporting the news without fear or favor. That will never change. Nothing will shake our determination to follow the reporting wherever it leads.
As you wrote when you first became The Post’s owner in 2013, “The values of The Post do not need changing.” We urge you to stand with us in reaffirming those values.
Signed,
Staffers of The Washington Post
