New Washington Post Owner, Jeff Bezos Meets with Staff

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently meet with the staff of the Washington Post. Bezos acquired the iconic newspaper for $250 million, not as part of Amazon’s portfolio, but as a personal purchase. He met with editorial staff privately, then ventured into the newsroom to answer questions from the rest of the staff.

Fred Hiatt, the editorial page editor said, “It’s entirely legitimate for an owner to have an editorial page that reflects his world view. Some owners don’t want to get involved, some work through the publisher, and some are very [directly] involved. I got the sense that he’s still in exploring mode.”

Bezos has stated that he will “protect the paper’s journalistic independence while investing time and resources to create a era The Post.”

According to the Washington Post article, Bezos generally observed, listened and watched during his meeting and tour of the paper. If there will be any cuts or major changes at the paper, they were not discussed at this meeting.