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> Amazon, whose founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post This warms my heart -- not just that the article doesn't take a political posit

> Amazon, whose founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post This warms my heart -- not just that the article doesn't take a political position, but that it was probably printed to disclaim one. That kind of defensive demonstration of journalistic integrity reminds me that there are idealistic people working inside these big-business papers. It's small news, and maybe other people are reporting on it too, but I like that I read it at the Washinton Post first.

jonathanyc 12y ago
This is common practice. I've seen it often in the Wall Street Journal and the Economist, for example.
javajosh 12y ago
It remains to be seen whether Bezos will take action against WaPo for printing this piece, as it really could affect Amazon's bottom-line, along with the Integrity Staffing case, during the holiday shopping season.
- Aloha 12y ago
  That would be incredibly foolish if he did.
  - javajosh 12y ago
    It would be morally wrong if he did, but foolish, I'm not so sure. It would depend on how he did it. First, it's not clear that such an act would ever become public knowledge. Second, even if it did, it's not clear that such an act would even generate significant repercussions given the current state of the public's general "injustice fatigue" and the overall minimal impact such an act would have. Basically, Bezos has a huge amount of latitude about if and how he reacts to this, especially if he's smart about it (and he is very smart). The larger lesson is that we must open our eyes to the fact that our society gives powerful individuals an incredible degree of latitude. We cannot let our idealism blind us to the fact that our business and political leaders wield tremendous unchecked power, especially in relatively small matters, and especially if that power is wielded with the intelligent foresight to avoid accountability.
- deleted 12y ago
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jonathanyc 12y ago

This is common practice. I've seen it often in the Wall Street Journal and the Economist, for example.

javajosh 12y ago

It remains to be seen whether Bezos will take action against WaPo for printing this piece, as it really could affect Amazon's bottom-line, along with the Integrity Staffing case, during the holiday shopping season.

Aloha 12y ago
That would be incredibly foolish if he did.
- javajosh 12y ago
  It would be morally wrong if he did, but foolish, I'm not so sure. It would depend on how he did it. First, it's not clear that such an act would ever become public knowledge. Second, even if it did, it's not clear that such an act would even generate significant repercussions given the current state of the public's general "injustice fatigue" and the overall minimal impact such an act would have. Basically, Bezos has a huge amount of latitude about if and how he reacts to this, especially if he's smart about it (and he is very smart). The larger lesson is that we must open our eyes to the fact that our society gives powerful individuals an incredible degree of latitude. We cannot let our idealism blind us to the fact that our business and political leaders wield tremendous unchecked power, especially in relatively small matters, and especially if that power is wielded with the intelligent foresight to avoid accountability.
deleted 12y ago
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