I am a subscriber to The Washington Post. It's because I have long admired that paper's stand in telling the truth - even when that upsets the powerful.
The Post was willing to reveal the criminality of the Nixon administration when all other media outlets were afraid to do so. That earned them a reputation that has endured for decades. And during the first Trump administration they continued that - exposing his lies and unethical behavior.
But a couple of recent moves by the paper has me worried. First, they changed a decades old policy and refused to endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential race. Did they really think that both parties had credible and ethical candidates? Or were they giving in to the wishes of their billionaire owner (Jeff Bezos - who had promised to be "hands-off" with the paper)?
Then they refused to run a political cartoon by their Pulitzer-winning cartoonist - Ann Telnaes. The cartoon was not untrue or defamatory. It simply told the truth - that owner Jeff Bezos and other billionaires were now "bending the knee" to Donald Trump.
The news media has two things that are required of them - to tell the truth and to expose the lies of the powerful. The Post has done that in the past, but these recent activities have me worried that it may not do so in the future.
I do not want to give up my subscription to The Washington Post. But if I cannot count on them to tell the truth to power (including its owner), then I will have to do so.
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