The Billionaire Class Won't Save Us
Because they don't care about anything but their bottom line.
Just published a new op-ed at HuffPost on the saga at The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times and the decisions from their billionaire owners to NOT put out endorsements despite decades of doing so at both publications. In the case of the Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos, he has chosen to hide behind the patina of endorsements don’t matter; how, according to him, people don’t trust the media and endorsements are why; and some version of we’re returning to our non-endorsing roots as if he can’t comprehend that to choose not to endorse in this heated political environment looks to readers of and journalists at his paper.
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A “non-endorsement” in this heightened atmosphere, especially when both publications had prepared pro-Harris op-eds, is an endorsement … for Trump. This move of convenience, clearly meant to shield Bezos and his many businesses from the tyranny of a Trump win, was an act of cowardice by our most cowardly class — billionaires. Billionaires who donate to Harris quietly, in hopes of not ruffling feathers. And billionaires who back down from endorsements, quite loudly and proudly, without comprehending the damage done to not just their newspapers, but the entire media industry.
Never mind the folly of bending the knee to a would-be president who has not yet won the election or been sworn into office. Never mind that this could have been an opportunity for Bezos to flex his own nearly $206 billion worth and stand up to the man threatening to bring fascism to our doorsteps. Never mind the storied Post — of Woodward and Bernstein fame, of former publisher Katharine Graham’s mettle — now of tarnished reputation that may take years to build back, if it’s ever able to with Bezos at the top.
Thus proving the quote “The billionaires will not save us.” They’re too busy kowtowing to a would-be authority. Who knows what was promised, if anything, but a non-endorsement after killing one for Harris is essentially an endorsement for Trump.
To paraphrase the Post’s Trump-era slogan, democracy didn’t die in darkness after all. It died in broad daylight, after a meeting with one of the richest men in the world. Afterward, the many journalists of the Post were left to pick up the pieces of their tarnished paper — some choosing to quit, others posting their disappointment and anger on social media. More than 200,000 digital subscribers as of Monday had dropped the Post, reportedly 8% of their subscribers. And the journalism world shook at this decision that took away so much through an action so pathetic and small.
Read the full Op-Ed on HuffPost Opinion here.
The Substack of the Writer Formally Known As The Black Snob is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a subscriber.
