Bezos and The Washington Post: A Complex Acquisition

The New Yorker staff writer Clare Malone joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the changes that Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post, is making at the paper. They talk about why Bezos decided to purchase the paper, in 2013, how his recent exertion of editorial influence has caused the paper to hemorrhage both staffers and subscribers, and the future of a news media dependent on the support of “benevolent” billionaires to support it. 

This week’s reading:

• “Is Jeff Bezos Selling Out the Washington Post?” by Clare Malone
• “How Joe Biden Handed the Presidency to Donald Trump,” by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson
• “How an Election Denier Became the U.S. Treasurer,” by Charles Bethea
• “Will the First American Pope Be a Pontiff of Peace?” by Paul Elie
• “Brazil’s President Confronts a Changing World,” by Jon Lee Anderson

To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker, visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com.