Headline Roundup • October 25th, 2024
Washington Post Declines to Endorse a 2024 Presidential Candidate
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Washington Post (Lean Left bias) editorial board drafted an endorsement of Kamala Harris, but owner Jeff Bezos reportedly stopped its release. The announcement ends the paper's 35-year streak of presidential endorsements.
The Details: WaPo CEO Will Lewis published a brief announcement on Friday, explaining the decision as "returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates" and "a statement in support of our readers’ ability to make up their own minds." WaPo itself reported soon after that "two people who were briefed on the sequence of events" said the decision was made by Bezos. Associated Press (Lean Left) reported later on Friday that two executives from Bezos' Blue Origin space tech company met privately with Donald Trump in Austin after a press conference. Some current and former WaPo editors and the paper's staff union criticized the decision in strong terms, and one of its editors-at-large quit his position.
For Context: WaPo's decision echoes that of the Los Angeles Times (Lean Left) earlier this week, which spurred its editorial editor to resign on Wednesday.
How the Media Covered It: WaPo's write-up of the story centered on internal criticism of the decision and pointedly noted that the news staff "operates independently from" the editorial staff. Other left media outlets like The Guardian (Lean Left) described "uproar and outrage" at the paper, and many including NBC News (Lean Left) included in their headlines that Bezos "killed" the Harris endorsement op-ed. Some right-biased outlets like Fox News (Right) did not mention Bezos' reported role in the decision, but others including New York Post (Lean Right) did.
Featured Coverage of this Story
John McDonnell/The Washington Post
The Washington Post’s publisher announced Friday that the paper will not make an endorsement in this year’s presidential contest, for the first time in 36 years, or in future presidential races.
The decision, 11 days before an election that most polls show as too close to call, marks the second time this week that a major media organization has declined to issue an endorsement in the race between the Republican nominee, former president Donald Trump, and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, after years of making such endorsements. Earlier this week, Patrick Soon-Shiong,...
In a note to readers on Friday, Post Publisher Will Lewis, whom Bezos hired earlier this year to shake up the Post’s business and editorial strategy, said the outlet would not be endorsing either Harris or former President Trump — a first for the Post in more than 35 years.
“We recognize that this will be read in a range of ways, including as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, or as a condemnation of another, or as an abdication of responsibility,” Lewis wrote. “That is inevitable. We don’t see it that way....
The Gateway Pundit
There is chaos at The Washington Post after its owner Jeff Bezos vetoed an endorsement of Kamala Harris over Donald Trump.
As reported by NPR on Friday, the paper will not be endorsing a candidate for the first time since 1980 after Bezos decided the company should remain neutral.
“The decision was revealed in a tense meeting with people on the editorial staff,” NPR reported.
