A huge storm and a wave of resignations in the American media

The founder of the e-commerce giant Amazon and the owner of the Washington Post newspaper, the billionaire Jeff Bezos caused an uproar when he banned the publication of an article supporting the candidacy of the vice president, Kamala Harris for the position of President of the United States, even though expressing support for a presidential candidate is a familiar practice in the American media.

The crisis led to an upheaval in the newspaper system, when the editor-in-chief Robert Kagan announced his retirement. At the same time, other senior officials are considering resigning in protest. One of them expressed sharply: “If you don’t have the balls to own a newspaper, don’t own a newspaper.”

The Washington Post, which avoided publishing an endorsement only once in 1988, announced in an unusual move: “The Washington Post will not publish a statement of support for a particular candidate for the presidency of the United States in the upcoming election, as well as in any future election campaign. We are returning to our roots by refraining from adopting one or another candidate in the presidential elections”.

The shake-up did not escape the Los Angeles Times either, where three journalists, including the editor of the opinion section, left in protest of a similar decision by the owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong. “I have no regrets. In fact, I think it was exactly the right decision,” the owner said in an interview. Choosing one candidate will only exacerbate the already deep divisions in the country, according to him.

Members of the editorial staff at the Los Angeles Times protested that the decision was inconsistent with the recent precedents of the newspaper, which has chosen a presidential candidate in every election since 2008 and even previously expressed opposition to the candidacy of the former president, Donald Trump.