Washington Post Editor Denounces Paper’s Shift Towards Conservatism, Calls It “Utterly Lost Its Soul”
David Maraniss, a 49-year veteran editor at the Washington Post, launched a scathing attack on the paper’s leadership on Wednesday, declaring that the publication has “utterly lost its soul.” Maraniss’ criticism followed the publication of an op-ed that drew false equivalence between Joe Biden’s and Donald Trump’s pardon decisions.
The op-ed, titled “The Biden-Trump pardons show collapsing executive restraint,” argued that it’s debatable which president’s abuse of the pardon power was more damaging. Maraniss took exception to the article’s characterization of Biden’s pardons as morally equivalent to Trump’s.
Maraniss’ criticism is the latest in a series of outspoken rebukes by Washington Post journalists and alumni, who have criticized the paper’s shift towards a more conservative, pro-Trump agenda. The backlash has been mounting since owner Jeff Bezos’ takeover of the paper, with several high-profile resignations, including that of editor at large Robert Kagan, writer Molly Roberts, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Hoffman.
Longtime Washington Post staff members, including columnist Michele Norris and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Hoffman, have also spoken out against the decision to spike a planned endorsement of Kamala Harris. The incident sparked widespread criticism, with Hoffman calling the move “a terrible mistake & an insult to the paper’s own longstanding standard.”
The controversy has led to cratering subscriptions and revenues, according to reports. Despite the criticism, Bezos has steadfastly stuck by his changes to the paper, enacting a rightward shift in the publication’s editorial direction that has alienated many of the paper’s traditional liberal readers and staff.
