"Massive intervention": Jeff Bezos sets rules for Washington Post opinion pages

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announces changes to the editorial staff of the Washington Post. Paul Ellis/AFP/dpa

US billionaire and newspaper owner Jeff Bezos has set rules for the opinion pages of the Washington Post. "We will support and defend two fundamental pillars in our writing every day: personal freedoms and free markets," Bezos said on Wednesday in the online service X. Of course, the newspaper will also cover other topics, "but we will leave viewpoints that run counter to these fundamental pillars to be published by others," added the Amazon founder.

"I believe that free markets and personal freedoms are right for America. I also believe that these considerations are not adequately reflected in the current marketplace of ideas and news opinions," Bezos continued in his latest message to his employees. "I look forward to working together to fill this gap." The newspaper itself also reported on the developments and wrote that Bezos was steering the opinion section in a "libertarian direction."

David Shipley disagrees with Jeff Bezos' rules

The head of the opinion page, David Shipley, has already let him know that he will be leaving the newspaper - because he did not agree to the new rules for the opinion pages.

Bezos bought the Washington Post in 2013. Before the US presidential election in November, he decided not to publish any voting recommendations in the paper for the duel between Republican Donald Trump and his rival Kamala Harris from the Democratic Party. Before that, the Washington Post had mostly made voting recommendations - and when it did, it was always for the Democratic candidates.

400 Washington Post employees write letter to Amazon founder

In January, the well-known cartoonist Ann Telnaes left the Washington Post after the newspaper rejected one of her cartoons. The Pulitzer Prize winner's drawing shows Amazon founder Bezos, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and other tech entrepreneurs kneeling in front of a statue of US President Donald Trump with bags of money in their hands. Department head Shipley explained at the time that the Washington Post had only decided against the cartoon to avoid duplication.

Other journalists also left the newspaper. In January, more than 400 Washington Post employees wrote a letter demanding a joint meeting with Bezos to discuss the newspaper's leadership. Bezos was one of the guests at Trump's inauguration.