My beloved Post.
Once a staple read in my daily morning routine, you have fallen at the feet of a billionaire. Throughout my childhood, my parents’ issue of the Post would be delivered daily at 5 a.m., and we’d give it a read during breakfast, sharing different folds as we made our way through the day’s top stories. The Post single-handedly lit the journalism flame inside of me. Without it, I would likely not even be at Northwestern pursuing a career that I love.
Now, as a Medill on the Hill reporter, getting to walk into the Post building everyday is nothing short of surreal. If only 10-year-old me could see myself walking past the bold, black-lettered masthead fixed on the entrance and into the lobby of the paper that’s had the biggest impact on me.
On Feb. 4, one-third of the paper’s newsroom was cut, and with it the intensive local, international and sports coverage. Arguably, all of the things that make the Post what it is: a cornerstone of the nation’s capital and the deliverer of the world’s biggest news. At the heart of this decision was billionaire Jeff Bezos, who has monopolized the Post into the ground within his decade-long tenure as its owner.
Bezos’ editorial decisions have gradually caved the paper in; this news is just the most recent blow. From cutting political endorsements of democratic political candidates to morale concerns coming straight from Post reporters, Bezos’s leadership has failed journalists, the D.C.-area community, and most of all, the paper’s millions of readers. Among those decisions, Bezos has rebuilt the opinions section to focus on “personal liberties and free markets,” as he believes there is no need for a broad-ranged opinion section if the internet exists.
But Bezos is mistaking mere noise for introspective discourse. The Post’s opinion stories are substantiated arguments on issues spanning culture, politics and entertainment. The paper won’t evolve by retreating to niche “free markets.”Instead, it’s surrendering its role as a trusted filter for a divided nation.
At the end of the day, Bezos will never love journalism as journalists do. He is a businessman who loves conquering everything that capitalism has to offer him. He does not, at least in recent years, value the sheer integrity that local and international journalism has to offer. He will never experience what it’s like to go out into the field and connect with politicians, protesters, sports legends, business owners, and fellow reporters. Nor the importance of having a newsroom with a diverse school of thought. This latest move shows that Bezos does not, and perhaps cannot, see how a strong newsroom that prioritizes accountability actively preserves our democracy, without a profit-centered mindset.
What’s hitting me the hardest is the massacre of the sports desk right before the world’s biggest sporting events. From the Winter Olympics to the FIFA World Cup, I can’t imagine the disappointment that those laid-off or re-positioned sports reporters feel.
In 2019, the Post ran the hard-hitting story on the Washington Nationals’ first World Series title. The story was on the front page and was memorable for all D.C. area natives, as the Nationals were consistently underdogs, especially compared to their opponent, the Houston Astros. This local victory, celebrated by all, was amplified by the Post’s coverage and made it all the more astonishing.
As heartbroken as I am for my D.C. community, I am angry for the reporters who have poured their hearts and years of their lives into their work at local papers, to only get cut. I hope this serves as a reminder that the corporate world can not sell out the media without protest from the American public. It’s unfortunate that papers across the nation are being diminished left and right, but we, as journalists and citizens, have to make our voices heard; otherwise, the Jeff Bezoses of the world will continue to kill meaningful journalism. Supporting your local newspapers matters more than it ever has before; even powerhouses like the Post need to be advocated for.
To the Post: I’m rooting for you, always and forever.
