Scoop: Washington Post editor Ruth Marcus says she’s resigning after a column on Jeff Bezos’s Wall Street Journal-like opinion pivot was rejected by Will Lewis
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Ben, speaking as a member of the profession of journalists for the past 60-years, beginning in 1964, I believe that Ruth's decision based upon rejection of her own work was too little too late. IMO, she should have resigned with the Bezos editorial wherein he declared that his judgment prevails.
I canceled my subscription in 2023 but it's still good to see some of its old guard standing up for basic principles of journalism even at the cost of leaving the paper
for me it was the growing bothsidesism, and (not claiming any amazing prescience) the addition of one worthless right wing columnist after another to the opinions roster
Agree. With respect to Thiessen, I didn’t like how the paper allowed fabrications/lying in columns under the umbrella of “opinion.” I thought opinion columns were supposed to be opinions about FACTS, not a means to make shit up and label it “an opinion.”
"Will's decision to not…run the column that I wrote respectfully dissenting from Jeff's edict - something that I have not experienced in almost two decades...underscores that the traditional freedom of columnists...has been dangerously eroded,"
What I’ve always hated about the Opinions page is that they damage the reputation and jeopardize the livelihoods of the paper’s reporters. That vaunted “wall” was always an insufferable conceit. It’s more like the bulkhead in a ship; now
they’ll all sink.
I’m sick of saying better late than never.
Maybe other editors and columnists can follow the example of an elder stateswoman among them.
They’ve never showed solidarity with the paper’s reporters, readers and subscribers, but maybe they can at least muster some among themselves and quit,
too.
i would support it in a hot minute if it moved off substack. I've cxled all my substack subs. I've continued to support journalists who moved to alternatives (https://ghost.io is but one)
Dana Milbank, Eugene Robinson,
Catherine Rampell, Max Boot, Catherine Rampell, Colbert King, Philip Bump, and others are still hanging in there. Of all of these, I think if Milbank and Robinson go it should be like the Little Dutch Boy removing his finger from the dike.
Yes. He's the reason I canceled my subscription and switched to the Guardian. Great decision: no ads with a subscription, clear sections, scroll bars (cf NYT which doesn't have them), US edition, marks which stories I have read. (Again, I think it was NYT that didn't do that.)
Damn...that was beautifully restrained but I still hear the hurt and pain of this decision.
I do worry that this is EXACTLY what these billionaire bought papers & corporate run media want...to destroy free media. Get those w/integrity to leave & also their subscribers...😮💨
Sad. Hope she becomes more active here. If only there was some billionaire that could gather all these writers/editors/journalists who are now “homeless” and create a new media group.
We have the same consumer power.
Dump Tesla
Dump Amazon
Dump Meta
Dump Apple
Dump facebook
Dump paypal.
Dump @washingtonpost.com
Make these rich assholes that could not care less about America suffer. WE MUST UNITE>
What I’ve always hated about the Opinions page is that they damage the reputation and jeopardize the livelihoods of the paper’s reporters. That vaunted “wall” was always an insufferable conceit. It’s more like the bulkhead in a ship; now
they’ll all sink.
In my view, the goal is for the responsible journalists to create new independent media — and for us to follow them. Bezos has already destroyed the WaPo. We have to make sure he and his ilk don’t destroy journalism altogether. It has to take root and survive elsewhere.
Yes because we only have 1 newspaper in the country. Oh wait, I'm hearing that we have a tremendous range of choices, many more honest than the Post. Huh.
Goebbels would love what the Post has become under Bezos, wtf do you think is worth saving at this point? There are far better sources of news and real reporting still out there.
I canceled my subscription back in October when Bezos pulled the Harris endorsement.
But you're missing my point:
The idea of "destroying" a long-established newspaper that has had many more good years than bad seems extremely short-sighted and ultimately harmful to a democracy.
Destroying it will mean that Jeff Bezos failed. And that you can't run a major news organization while angling for billions in government contracts from a corrupt administration. He must fail, and fail spectacularly.
I'm fortunate because I live in France and read French. I left the NYT several years ago and WaPo this year. Le Monde is expensive but not owned by oligarchs.
I cancelled my print subscription but I had paid through October so still receive it. I won’t financially support fascists unless there is no option. And there are many other options for news.
And, for decades, the Post was my primary print news source. The day Bezos nixed a presidential endorsement was the day I left it behind. Most of their best journalists have since left. Soon, it will be just another arm of the right-wing propaganda machine.
I understand taking the high road but her last sentence drives me crazy. “I wish you the best as you steer this institution thru troubled times”. What??
How about “you’re destroying this institution by driving it into a ditch”.
I think she's talking to her colleagues, not to Bezos. The people she's worked with, in the trenches, for decades.
I don't begrudge her that. And if some said, "I'm going to stay to continue to write stories exposing those in power, and continuing making Bezos uncomfortable," I get that argument.
Time to not only cancel subscriptions but also boycott Bezos’ core business Amazon. I left X and all Zuckerberg apps, never even thought about buying a Tesla, started boycotting Jack Daniel’s and other red state products. But Amazon is really difficult to replace. Any advice?
Your mileage may vary depending on your location, but fwiw, I "cancelled" Amazon many years ago and never felt I was missing anything. Books: easiest to replace; Prime: you can live without; food: never should've been bought from Amazon to begin with; the rest: buy/order elsewhere. Good luck!
I started buying more locally - even if it's at a chain store (but not one with bad policies), as well as mom & pop stores, and if I need to buy something online, it's pretty easy to find other sources. Yes, I have paid for shipping a couple of times, but you have to make small sacrifices.
I cancelled Amazon Prime a couple months ago and haven’t used Amazon at all since, I think you can find what you need through internet searches and ordering directly from individual business sites, Etsy and eBay too, I’ll use Barnes & Noble for some books and music and gifts
I’m only staying with Amazon bc of my kindle unlimited- still got so many books to read and bc it allows me to continue my ARC readings, which keep me sane during this time. But I have curbed the rest down at least 90%, always buying directly where possible. Not giving him more of my money.
How is Amazon ‘difficult to replace’?
What you ACTUALLY mean is it’s convenient
Get off your tush/engage your brain
Deal directly with companies, shop at actual bricks and mortar, use ETSY
We haven’t used Amazon since I realized who and what Bezos was doing- circa 2006
Neither do our adult kids
Yes that might be possible. But isn’t that exactly what the MAGA want? Turn back in time, be conservative, deny progress. I’d rather see a step forward. Get the stuff I need without supporting fascist billionaires. Maybe Etsy is the answer.
We're using Amazon much less. If I find a product I would like there, I'll search for it again on the broader web and often find it directly from the retailer and usually at the same price or better.
I needed a sheet of cork and found it on Amazon. Went to the manufacturers web page. Ordered it directly from them, same price and free shipping. Delivery may be longer, but worth it to have avoided giving Amazon my business.
Getting scolded by Bezos just before the election did it for me. What took her so long?
The other question I have is: why are conservatives losing their minds in what should be a moment of triumph? Hugh Hewitt rage quit WaPo. Thiessen has totally gone around the bend.
Yes, give up on WaPo but don’t go to the NYT. They are equally biased, especially concerning Palestine. I’ve switched to The Guardian, as have many other Americans.
I have already canceled my Amazon account, my subscription to the Washington Post, and I quit shopping at Whole Foods, but I will continue to find ways I can fight Bezos. He is an unAmerican, antidemocratic oligarch. Fuck him.
Ruth Marcus is an institutionalist/centrist who in her writing has an instinct to go for the capillary. If she’s too far out of the box, then the WaPo editorials are now just an attempt to spam news readers with Jeff’s Thoughts
and I think that’s one of the challenges for MSM reporters: even if you’re a brilliant newsgatherer, if the boss is just going to use the audience that consumes your news to push his hobbyhorse what’s the point? Are you just another Fox News reporter telling themselves they work on “the news side”?
Don't just cancel your subscription, in which case it will simply not "renew". DEMAND a refund of all remaining funds that you've paid to read the WaPo and will no longer be reading! Accelerate the departure!
My subscription was cancelled, effectively not renewing in August 2025. After Bezos' opinion page BS, I contacted WaPo customer service through the app and asked for an immediate refund as I wouldn't be reading the paper any longer. I received roughly $54 back! It felt good!
I ended my support once I found out that they refused to stand behind a nominee for the election. Every few weeks, I get another little sign that they are simply pretending to stand on the side of the people. The writing has become too biased. Apparently, even opinions aren't allowed?
I’m concerned about all these Washington post writers – not having a newspaper to write for —that’s a top-notched one. Will they become freelance writers?
I only hold on to this one MSM subscription as a sort of depth sounder. To measure the distance from the surface of reality, MSM will wilfully submerge itself to communicate with the dead, deep in the political hadal.
But at these depths, measuring almost seems redundant & pointless.
I used to read four newspapers a day now I'm down to two and both of those are outside the US. I refuse to read a paper that's being told what to write and how to write it by a billionaire owner or refuses to defend democracy because its partisan.
Like Ruth Marcus, I've loved the Post but now conclude I must leave. I won't renew my subscription. I started reading the Post over 40 years ago. It was a portal for this farm boy to enter a far larger, more interesting world. But sadly, WaPo's credibility is dangerously eroded. I'm waving goodbye.
Yeah, I wouldn't really trust anyone in real life who couldn't acknowledge that Harris was the only sane choice in 2024. Why would I trust your newspaper if you can't even do that.
I'm not in love with NYT but they did manage to make a responsible endorsement.
I concluded that about a month or so ago. I started reading the Post regularly in college, which is about 30 years ago for me now. I was a subscriber for years. I miss it, but canceling was the right thing to do for me. The current owner and his chief lackey do not value what I value in a newspaper.
I did the same and I share your sadness. It's a tough call to make. There are still some good people there, but it is not the same paper, beyond "zombie" status at this point.
He should have closed it or sold it, but that would require some vestige of a conscience.
Lástima, el servilismo está a la orden del día. El miedo al gangsterismo se esparce por el mundo. Trump y compañía están convirtiendo el mundo en un infierno.
I did as well. I keep wavering because I want to support independent journalism in this country and so far the news side of WaPo appears clean, but then I think I would just be putting off the inevitable.
I've felt the same way. I've stuck with WaPo so far using exactly the same reasoning. But it creates huge cognitive dissonance to have your opinion section so at odds with the facts that the news operation is publishing. Sooner or later, reality will yield to right-wing fantasy in news as well.
There are so many other journalists doing great work at other institutions right now that could use your dollars. Wired, 404, ProPublica, to name a few.
Exactly. A bunch of great publications already get a bunch of my dollars. Like Timothy Snyder says in "On Tyranny," defend institutions. Pick some great newspapers, magazines, substacks and support them with your money and your participation.
Yeah and I do, but we are losing the infrastructure of historical journalism and that makes it easier for yahoos like that suit dude at the Zelensky confab to be as accredited as someone from AP. However, that ship has been sailing for a while.
I have given my funds to my local newspaper, the Guardian, Marisa Kabas, and still follow the AP bc they refuse to capitulate and seem the most trustworthy source without bias.
The whole news media universe is breaking up and reconfiguring. There's not any single "public" anymore. Our publics are so fragmented I wonder if we can ever again create a coherent stream of public discourse strong enough to keep a nation this size together by consent rather than by fear.
And most of WP staff have departed for outlets like the NYT. Say what you will about the Times, its owner isn't trolling for billions in government contracts from the same corrupt administration the paper is supposed to cover. That's a big difference.
Yup. The Atlantic is getting great talent from the sinking WaPo, too. And of course, Jen Rubin has started her own, The Contrarian. WaPo is like a nurse log in the temperate rain forests of the Pacific Northwest. A giant tree fallen and rotting becomes a place where new life sprouts.
A big middle finger 🖕 to Jeff Bezos. Had he owned WaPo back in 1970s we would have never heard of Watergate or Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, or Deep Throat.
Jeff Bezos isn't on journalism's side - isn't on America's side.
Is Bezos destroying the @washingtonpost.com as a favor to Elon, Trump or Putin - or all three?
Maybe it's time for Americans to quit Amazon.
The fascist billionaires like Bezos have infiltrated/taken over our daily lives way too much.
Substack is awful in its own ways, though. I always hope people of good conscience find a platform that's not reprehensible, or self-publish, which isn't difficult or expensive.
I hope we have not heard the last of #RuthMarkus. Her articles and commentary were exemplary. @washingtonpost.com is declining even further. It's sad to see her go. You should rethink things before you're considered "State Media".
The first website I visited on the World Wide Web as we called it was the Washington Post in 1996 to follow the presidential election from New Zealand. I’ve subscribed for a number of years but will let my subscription lapse when it expires in a few months. I no longer see the point of it
In the Grand Scheme of Things, cancelling my subscription to the Washington Post because it's being pushed to the right won't hurt their bottom line.
But it feels like the right thing to do and I've done it.
Left six months ago. Refreshing to discover there are other media outlets available that are not encumbered by the shade that a multi-multi-billionaire, with his own clear agenda (need MORE MONEY!) casts over factual objective journalism.
The barbarians are at the gate.
Bezos has his arms out.
We can no longer trust so many news organizations that are giving up to an authoritarian regime in this country. It is very disheartening to see this country change so drastically and even more sad that this is what America wanted when they voted for Trump.
How did Thiessen's most recent column fit the stated criteria for the page? It had nothing to do with either personal liberties or free markets. (It was a full MAGA version of reality on Ukraine.)
Jesus, I just had a terrifying vision of people sitting on the other side of an opaque barrier from Jeff Bezos who has just been told that every time he presses the button, the voltage for the anonymous victim will double.
It’s kind’ve incredible that throughout my lifetime that the WP, NYT, and LAT went from actual credible news sources to soapbox rags for billionaires to scream endlessly about their victimhood complexes. What an incredible era of late stage capitalism.
I am so sorry that WAPO has declined as an advocate of free speech and thought. It used to be a beacon of light amongst the fog of darkness. Now, it’s something to wrap fish in. Why does anyone who wants truth and understanding still have a subscription? Why do people post using it as a reference
I hope someone w/deep pockets, that believes in CREDIBLE JOURNALISM, steps in to buy the WaPo. Bezos's is no longer trustworthy and he's CLEARLY COMPROMISED.
WaPo needs an owner whose priority is the TRUTH, NOT LIES OR OMISSIONS; one that WON'T muzzle the NEWS, like Bezos & Lewis have been doing.
It's not impossible. Former writers, editors, and columnists in Colorado, many of whom were part of the defunct Rocky Mountain News, and declining Denver Post, among others, got together and crowdfunded the launch of The Colorado Sun, which is already winning awards.
There is a group led by Kara Swisher that is trying to do just that and Bezos won’t sell. Kara loves the Post, has secured financing, and wants to save it. Bezos wants to keep it.
Shame on Bezos's and his toady Will Lewis.
WAPOs 2017 motto "Democracy Dies in Darkness"
should be change to: "Truth Be Dammed."
DEMOCRACY IS DYING RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES!
So sad for the great journalists living through this shameful time in history. #TrustedJournalismMatters #TruthMatters
It won't be long until the opinion section of the WP is just Marc Thiessen. I'm waiting for George Will to leave because the paper has gotten too right-wing for him.
It is a real sadness that bowing to heir felon has cost the WP its reputation, independence and staff. Once Bezos announced his control over opinion pieces the ring had been kissed and the damage began. Dispiriting.
Didn't you know that tagging someone's completely public social media handle and hiding in their shrubs at night videoing them through their bathroom window are EXACTLY THE SAME THING?
That is a public social media handle. Of a public figure. There are a whole metric tonne of awful things going on, and merely tagging a journalist’s public profile fits somewhere in between being late for work and leaving your ID badge at home by mistake. It’s not stalking any more than my reply is.
Tagging a public figure-a JOURNALIST whose email address is at the bottom every one of her columns & who has a SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT is not “stalking.” Pam. It’s how people speak to each other on platforms like this. Maybe ask someone how to use this one & delete your acct. until you know how.
More evidence that they were never interested in neutrality or balance. They want partisan media that supports the interests of big business and conservatism.
This is ultimately what Bezos supports and believes in, supporting mass surveillance for genocide. Then he showed his loyalty to Trump's fascist mafia rule at inauguration:
When people show you who they are, believe them the 1st time, as Maya Angelou said. This horrific surveillance/targeting likely coming here to US. Same companies, same network of fascist billionaires: https://www.972mag.com/lavender-ai-israeli-army-gaza/
It's a good idea to delete Amazon, Alexa, doorbell cams, most social media. In Gaza, use phone, govt, social media info to make the tracking AI. Bezos will hand over any info he has as Amazon gets into telehealth, pharmacy; Frontier installing Amazon routers. Use open source like Linux not Microsoft
Use Firefox not Chrome; Signal not WhatsApp; protonmail not gmail, etc. Musk is using AI & has our govt info. Larry Ellison (part owner of Twitter) said all our govt info should be in 1 darabase so we behave. This is mass surveillance on unprecedented scale.
Comments
Kathryn Graham is rolling in her grave. God help Bezos if she gets loose.
You can't trust 'em
When the walls, come crumblin tumblin
D
O
W
N
And we do mind, being their whipping girls!
Ruth Marcus, you did well! 👏
I used to email them begging them to defenestrate the Opinions board.
A Mark Theissen piece was the final straw.
"Will's decision to not…run the column that I wrote respectfully dissenting from Jeff's edict - something that I have not experienced in almost two decades...underscores that the traditional freedom of columnists...has been dangerously eroded,"
they’ll all sink.
Maybe other editors and columnists can follow the example of an elder stateswoman among them.
They’ve never showed solidarity with the paper’s reporters, readers and subscribers, but maybe they can at least muster some among themselves and quit,
too.
I call BULLSHIT.
So, she was fine with all the other acts of interference, but when it hit HER, she resigns? Well, la-dee-dah for her!
She's no hero.
Make no mistake, @ruthmarcus.bsky.social is a sell out.
Ultimately, the right move. Heroic? No.
SMDH
Catherine Rampell, Max Boot, Catherine Rampell, Colbert King, Philip Bump, and others are still hanging in there. Of all of these, I think if Milbank and Robinson go it should be like the Little Dutch Boy removing his finger from the dike.
The oligarchy and its tools of disinfo and manipulation must be destroyed at all costs and by any and all means available.
I do worry that this is EXACTLY what these billionaire bought papers & corporate run media want...to destroy free media. Get those w/integrity to leave & also their subscribers...😮💨
Everyone should be outraged by what is going on with our Freedoms - shame on every damn one of you feckless GOP Congress members!
https://bsky.app/profile/benmullin.bsky.social/post/3ljzqgixk6s2v
Dump Tesla
Dump Amazon
Dump Meta
Dump Apple
Dump facebook
Dump paypal.
Dump @washingtonpost.com
Make these rich assholes that could not care less about America suffer. WE MUST UNITE>
It’s always the right day and the right time to resign from the Washington Post.
they’ll all sink.
Are we doing it for *us* or are we doing it because they're getting us to do it for *them*?
Gotta stay 2 moves ahead
do words even mean anything anymore
Asset denial.
Killing the Washington Post is stupid. Applying pressure to change it back to what it once was is doable with the right owner.
This is what you are supporting.
But you're missing my point:
The idea of "destroying" a long-established newspaper that has had many more good years than bad seems extremely short-sighted and ultimately harmful to a democracy.
lol
However, you're clinging to a historical ideal of what WaPo used to be.
Bezos has destroyed that, and clinging to its memory only delays the inevitable establishment of the new beacon of democracy that must rise.
Focus now on that
Having a major newspaper being bought and controlled by a political ally billionaire oligarch would be very pleasing to Goebbels, I would think.
https://www.cjr.org/
The crazy millionaires only understand the language of money.
How about “you’re destroying this institution by driving it into a ditch”.
I don't begrudge her that. And if some said, "I'm going to stay to continue to write stories exposing those in power, and continuing making Bezos uncomfortable," I get that argument.
What you ACTUALLY mean is it’s convenient
Get off your tush/engage your brain
Deal directly with companies, shop at actual bricks and mortar, use ETSY
We haven’t used Amazon since I realized who and what Bezos was doing- circa 2006
Neither do our adult kids
If that's too much of a stretch, order via companies' web sites and bypass Amazon. You might even save $$.
The other question I have is: why are conservatives losing their minds in what should be a moment of triumph? Hugh Hewitt rage quit WaPo. Thiessen has totally gone around the bend.
How ... casual.
Bezos isn't going to own any of his responsibility for enabling Trumpism, though.
🧑🍳💋
https://nypost.com/2025/03/05/media/washington-post-wants-help-recruiting-right-leaning-journalists/
But at these depths, measuring almost seems redundant & pointless.
I'm not in love with NYT but they did manage to make a responsible endorsement.
He should have closed it or sold it, but that would require some vestige of a conscience.
The WaPo is dead. It died in darkness, choking on dollar bills.
https://www.propublica.org/
https://www.wired.com/
For now.
Is Bezos destroying the @washingtonpost.com as a favor to Elon, Trump or Putin - or all three?
Maybe it's time for Americans to quit Amazon.
The fascist billionaires like Bezos have infiltrated/taken over our daily lives way too much.
NBC KNOWINGLY marketed a failed businessman/criminal con man/unhinged narcissist/sexual predator.
Now Bezos is doing it, too:
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/donald-trump-the-apprentice-streaming-amazon-prime-video-1236333072/
If she’s too far afield for Bezos then he’s gone full-bore MAGA.
Bravo!
But it feels like the right thing to do and I've done it.
The barbarians are at the gate.
Bezos has his arms out.
ティックトックライト
餅つきバトルのチームにはいりませんか！
始まったばかりなので熱いです！
❗️現在17名❗️！！！
精鋭揃いです笑笑
#tiktoklite #ティックトックライト
#tiktok #ティックトック #雪の結晶
#餅つき #餅つきバトル
They don't deserve Ruth Marcus!
The disappearance of a sense of responsibility is the most far-reaching consequence of submission to authority.
Stanley Milgram
Fuck both of you. I’m out. You know why.
Go to hell,
Ruth
WaPo needs an owner whose priority is the TRUTH, NOT LIES OR OMISSIONS; one that WON'T muzzle the NEWS, like Bezos & Lewis have been doing.
WAPOs 2017 motto "Democracy Dies in Darkness"
should be change to: "Truth Be Dammed."
DEMOCRACY IS DYING RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES!
So sad for the great journalists living through this shameful time in history. #TrustedJournalismMatters #TruthMatters
Destroy Jeff Bezos' Trump-serving "newspaper".
Also, the article can be read at https://archive.md/8FhdF, but here is alt text as well:
Any resignation from the WaPo needs to be more direct.
#DemocracyDiesInDarkness
In USA they went for lawyers as well as press...
As both are cornerstones of the USA.
No lawyers - no trials
No free press - nobody knows
SoMe can screw up the rulebook of dictators.
You can help-.
Particularly when you do it while cowering behind a pseudonym.
Another one judging people from behind a pseudonym.
https://www.972mag.com/cloud-israeli-army-gaza-amazon-google-microsoft/
https://brandsownedby.com/list-of-amazon-owned-companies/
Feb 19, 2025: