3 ms·

An interesting example might be WaPo, with Jeff Bezos literally being the owner of a major publication. Are there any examples of biased/helpful coverage? Curio

An interesting example might be WaPo, with Jeff Bezos literally being the owner of a major publication. Are there any examples of biased/helpful coverage? Curious how much the ownership affects the editorial angle.

gkoberger 8y ago
As far as I can tell, Bezos has stayed away from the editorial side completely. They've posted some negative Amazon content: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/is-amazon-getting-too-big/2017/07/28/ff38b9ca-722e-11e7-9eac-d56bd5568db8_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/is-amazon-getting-to... https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/04/27/how-to-get-around-amazon-primes-new-119-fee/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/04/27/h...
jameshart 8y ago
You bring this up presumably because of the tech company angle, to suggest that Bezos buying WaPo is somehow in the same ballpark of influence-purchasing that Uber and Google are caught up in here? That seems to be a slightly disingenuous comparison. For one, Bezos seems to be taking a pretty light touch on Washington Post editorial content, which probably makes sense for him as an owner, since it's probably worth more as a business if it has a solid editorial reputation. For two, if you're looking to cast aspersions on the editorial influence of owners, you'd maybe want to take a look at who owns the Evening Standard, since that's the paper whose coverage has apparently been put up for sale. It's Alexander Lebedev, billionaire Russian financial/aviation 'oligarch', who was literally a KGB spy in London in the cold war. But sure, I bet you're right to be concerned about the sinister motivations of a bookseller now he owns a newspaper.
- zerostar07 8y ago
  But how can we trust you re unbiased?
- called_it 8y ago
  > For two, if you're looking to cast aspersions on the editorial influence of owners, you'd maybe The operative word here being "if". Not that it makes sense even granting your motive of wanting to cast aspersions, which you made up in order to to cast aspersions yourself, since it's not a binary choice. To call Bezos a bookseller is just fantastic, you're projecting a whole lot of laughability.
ocdtrekkie 8y ago
There's always been conflicts of interest in ownership. As gkoberger points out though: WaPo still seems to have church and state properly separated. The issue is not when journalism is owned by a company, but when that journalism is affected by that ownership.
Tycho 8y ago
Anyone who thinks Bezos bought the The Washington Post because of its cashflow potential or just for fun is foolishly naive.

gkoberger 8y ago

As far as I can tell, Bezos has stayed away from the editorial side completely. They've posted some negative Amazon content: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/is-amazon-getting-too-big/2017/07/28/ff38b9ca-722e-11e7-9eac-d56bd5568db8_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/is-amazon-getting-to... https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/04/27/how-to-get-around-amazon-primes-new-119-fee/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/04/27/h...

jameshart 8y ago

You bring this up presumably because of the tech company angle, to suggest that Bezos buying WaPo is somehow in the same ballpark of influence-purchasing that Uber and Google are caught up in here? That seems to be a slightly disingenuous comparison. For one, Bezos seems to be taking a pretty light touch on Washington Post editorial content, which probably makes sense for him as an owner, since it's probably worth more as a business if it has a solid editorial reputation. For two, if you're looking to cast aspersions on the editorial influence of owners, you'd maybe want to take a look at who owns the Evening Standard, since that's the paper whose coverage has apparently been put up for sale. It's Alexander Lebedev, billionaire Russian financial/aviation 'oligarch', who was literally a KGB spy in London in the cold war. But sure, I bet you're right to be concerned about the sinister motivations of a bookseller now he owns a newspaper.

zerostar07 8y ago
But how can we trust you re unbiased?
called_it 8y ago
> For two, if you're looking to cast aspersions on the editorial influence of owners, you'd maybe The operative word here being "if". Not that it makes sense even granting your motive of wanting to cast aspersions, which you made up in order to to cast aspersions yourself, since it's not a binary choice. To call Bezos a bookseller is just fantastic, you're projecting a whole lot of laughability.

ocdtrekkie 8y ago

There's always been conflicts of interest in ownership. As gkoberger points out though: WaPo still seems to have church and state properly separated. The issue is not when journalism is owned by a company, but when that journalism is affected by that ownership.

Tycho 8y ago

Anyone who thinks Bezos bought the The Washington Post because of its cashflow potential or just for fun is foolishly naive.