5 ms·

I don't see anyone majorly naysaying this move, but in case anyone does, remember that Jeff is smart. Very, very smart. I've heard him referenced to as "a hyper

I don't see anyone majorly naysaying this move, but in case anyone does, remember that Jeff is smart. Very, very smart. I've heard him referenced to as "a hyper-intelligent alien who has only a tangential in human affairs" before. AMZN represents a bit of this. My money's on Jeff - he's got something up his sleeve here.

aridiculous 13y ago
Please stop with the nauseating idol-worship. He's a businessman trying to control more stuff and make more money.
- adventured 13y ago
  Just because you don't find businessmen to be worthy of looking up, doesn't mean somebody else doesn't. There's plenty of room on HN for differing beliefs, even if you find it nauseating. I regard earning money in a productive fashion and without the use of force to be one of the greatest things a person can do. That's my belief, and I don't force anybody else to agree with me.
ForrestN 13y ago
Just because he's smart doesn't mean he's benevolent, right? I would never argue that he's stupid but I'd be curious to know if anyone has any insight into the extent to which he's likely to be making this purchase in order to gain influence of some kind.
- adventured 13y ago
  Clearly with a $28 billion net worth (#15 in the world), and the head of Amazon.com, he is not lacking in influence. He already has that in spades. There isn't anybody in Washington that won't take his call. There are radically cheaper ways to have influence. He could set up a PAC, seed it with $50 million, and directly buy whatever influence he needs. The thing about buying one of the few really national papers and slanting its coverage: your competitors will have a field day and it won't be long before your paper is a joke that nobody takes seriously. I don't think he has much room to abuse this for influence.
  - joe5150 13y ago
    "it won't be long before your paper is a joke that nobody takes seriously" Washington doesn't have room for another joke of a paper that nobody takes seriously[1]! [1] http://www.washingtontimes.com/ http://www.washingtontimes.com/
  - foobarqux 13y ago
    Media outlets are naturally biased in favor of their owners for obvious reasons. Major newspapers have been systemically biased for decades but many people still take them seriously.
  - ForrestN 13y ago
    This is, in my opinion, an overly straightforward conception of influence. I'm not saying Bezos would want to buy the Washington Post in order to effect positive coverage of Amazon. Calling people and starting a PAC with a transparent agenda is not nearly as powerful as controlling one of the few trusted, prestigious political news outlets left. You can influence operations without directly interfering in the newsroom, and you can do so while appearing to give the paper autonomy. The fact that flagrant, visible abuse would be self-defeating doesn't really tell us anything. I guess I'd ask this: if the newspaper is not valuable for its influence, why buy it at all? It will not make him money, he is not bored. Even if he is buying it to keep it out of other hands, that remains an agenda and an active use of influence.
pclark 13y ago
what does "… alien who has only a tangential in human affairs" even mean? he owns a huge commerce company and just bought a newspaper. isn't he trying to launch humans into space? didn't he recover the rockets from one of humanities greatest space exploits? doesn't he have a famous laugh?
- jessaustin 13y ago
  I was picturing Dr. Manhattan.
- saraid216 13y ago
  It means that the quoted person doesn't think human beings are smart.
- gohrt 13y ago
  It is from a Steve Yegge article accusing Bezos of treating his staff like assembly line machines.

aridiculous 13y ago

Please stop with the nauseating idol-worship. He's a businessman trying to control more stuff and make more money.

adventured 13y ago
Just because you don't find businessmen to be worthy of looking up, doesn't mean somebody else doesn't. There's plenty of room on HN for differing beliefs, even if you find it nauseating. I regard earning money in a productive fashion and without the use of force to be one of the greatest things a person can do. That's my belief, and I don't force anybody else to agree with me.

ForrestN 13y ago

Just because he's smart doesn't mean he's benevolent, right? I would never argue that he's stupid but I'd be curious to know if anyone has any insight into the extent to which he's likely to be making this purchase in order to gain influence of some kind.

adventured 13y ago
Clearly with a $28 billion net worth (#15 in the world), and the head of Amazon.com, he is not lacking in influence. He already has that in spades. There isn't anybody in Washington that won't take his call. There are radically cheaper ways to have influence. He could set up a PAC, seed it with $50 million, and directly buy whatever influence he needs. The thing about buying one of the few really national papers and slanting its coverage: your competitors will have a field day and it won't be long before your paper is a joke that nobody takes seriously. I don't think he has much room to abuse this for influence.
- joe5150 13y ago
  "it won't be long before your paper is a joke that nobody takes seriously" Washington doesn't have room for another joke of a paper that nobody takes seriously[1]! [1] http://www.washingtontimes.com/ http://www.washingtontimes.com/
- foobarqux 13y ago
  Media outlets are naturally biased in favor of their owners for obvious reasons. Major newspapers have been systemically biased for decades but many people still take them seriously.
- ForrestN 13y ago
  This is, in my opinion, an overly straightforward conception of influence. I'm not saying Bezos would want to buy the Washington Post in order to effect positive coverage of Amazon. Calling people and starting a PAC with a transparent agenda is not nearly as powerful as controlling one of the few trusted, prestigious political news outlets left. You can influence operations without directly interfering in the newsroom, and you can do so while appearing to give the paper autonomy. The fact that flagrant, visible abuse would be self-defeating doesn't really tell us anything. I guess I'd ask this: if the newspaper is not valuable for its influence, why buy it at all? It will not make him money, he is not bored. Even if he is buying it to keep it out of other hands, that remains an agenda and an active use of influence.

pclark 13y ago

what does "… alien who has only a tangential in human affairs" even mean? he owns a huge commerce company and just bought a newspaper. isn't he trying to launch humans into space? didn't he recover the rockets from one of humanities greatest space exploits? doesn't he have a famous laugh?

jessaustin 13y ago
I was picturing Dr. Manhattan.
saraid216 13y ago
It means that the quoted person doesn't think human beings are smart.
gohrt 13y ago
It is from a Steve Yegge article accusing Bezos of treating his staff like assembly line machines.