Democracy Dies In Bezos

Bezos chooses crap over quality

In 2012, I was woken up by a phone call from Ed Jones (no relation), the editor of the Free Lance-Star, where I had been staff editorial cartoonist since August of 1998. This was unusual as Ed never called me, especially at home. Honestly, I should have already been at work, but I kind of did whatever I wanted to do when it came to my hours. I'm sure Ed searched for me at the paper, which was also unusual, and couldn't find me.

Ed said that he wanted to speak with me when I got to work. I knew what he wanted to discuss, and it wasn't going to be pleasant. I told him to go ahead and tell me now. I did not want to dread our conversation while showering, getting dressed, and driving into the office. If you're going to execute me, let's just get it over with.

There had already been two rounds of layoffs at the paper, along with cutbacks in pay. Additionally, most staffers had been asked to take on additional duties. After both rounds of layoffs, colleagues at the paper told me that there was no way that they could get rid of me because I was too valuable, which I believed was bullshit. I thought that when it came time to choose someone to get rid of, it would be very easy to get rid of me. Ed agreed because after the first round of layoffs, he called me into his office to tell me how much the newspaper did not need me and how expendable I was, so I should count my blessings that they were not going to lay me off just yet. I think this was their way of teaching me to be happy with whatever they asked me to do and not to complain about it. In case you haven't detected it yet, I kind of have an attitude, I'm stubborn in my beliefs, and I stick to my guns.

But Ed did not call me in to clean out my desk and get the fuck out. I had two weeks. Later in the day, which was on a Friday (these things are usually on Fridays because people who might want to go home and get a gun and come back and shoot the place up, have usually cooled down over the weekend. Seriously. There have been studies on this. I also wonder if that's why my editor chose to be out of town that day), I attended the staff meeting in the newsroom, led by managing editor Phil Jenkins, who told the newsroom that the paper would actually be better off, despite having a smaller staff.

I walked out in the middle of that meeting and went outside and had a smoke. Yes, I was a smoker back then. Apparently, I was the only victim of the layoffs to attend the meeting, and Phil was told afterward that what he said may have offended those who were laid off, like me. To his credit, Phil sought me out to apologize.

But the argument that the product is going to be better with lower quality is common among the people in charge. Newspapers make that argument to their readers and to their staffers. The staffers know better and don't buy the bullshit. I don't expect many readers to buy it either, but just in case, after laying off around 300 people, the Washington Post is not going to be a better newspaper.

You don't become a better newspaper by firing exceptionally talented and experienced people who know their beats. You especially don't become a better newspaper by making deep cuts into your international coverage and shutting down your sports department.

While I wasn't fond of the way I was told that I was being dismissed, at least they were willing to tell me to my face. According to reports, Washington Post staffers were informed their careers were over at the paper in an email.

Amazon Founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos bought the newspaper in 2013 and vowed to preserve its journalistic tradition, stating that he would not lead its day-to-day operations. He promised he would not meddle in the operation of the newspaper. Everyone believed that Bezos was the savior of newspaper journalism, and the motto “democracy dies in darkness” was placed on top of the front page. Everyone believed that the newspaper was going to stand strong against the Trump regime, and for four years, it did.

But then, Bezos killed the newspaper’s endorsement of Kamala Harris, shortly before the 2024 election. Then, he banned any opinions that contradict his own. Later, Ann Telnaes quit the paper after her editor killed a cartoon of hers that was critical of Bezos and his sucking up to Donald Trump. The cartoon went on to win the Pulitzer Prize, which was the first time the prize was awarded to a political cartoonist since 2018 (which was Darrin Bell, but talking about that today is only going to sidetrack us).

A lot of people are protesting this move by the Post by canceling their subscriptions. But I don't know how much more I can protest against the post because I had already canceled my subscription. I can't remember if I did it when they killed the editorial endorsing Harris or when they killed Ann's cartoon, but I'm not coming back. Today, my main source is CNN and The New York Times.

That makes me sad because I loved The Washington Post. I always believed it was the second-best newspaper in the country, and a close second at that. The lineage at the Post can't be beat. It’s the newspaper that published the Pentagon Papers and busted open Watergate. It was the home of Herblock. The newspaper brought down an American president. Now, it's sucking up to one.

Jeff Bezos spent $40 million for the rights to distribute Melania's stupid ass documentary, which was made in a span of three weeks. When reviewed on Rotten Tomatoes, Melania has 6% approval from critics and 99% approval from audiences. The reason the reviews are so high among the audience is that they're not real. MAGAts are writing these reviews. The reason the reviews are so low among the critics is that the documentary is dog shit. Ticket sales were also higher than expected and have grossed around $7 million for the film, despite the fact that no one's actually in the theaters. People like Bezos are paying people to attend and purchasing the tickets in bulk. The tickets are mostly not being used, though Fox News is using that as proof that the movie is the most amazing thing that's ever been in the theaters since The Godfather, whose Rotten Tomatoes approval is one point lower than that of Melania.

At least one staffer laid off from the Post is a Pulitzer Prize winner, yet Bezos spent $40 million on that piece of shit called Melania. When I refer to it as a piece of shit, am I talking about the movie or the person?

Bezos spending $40 million on Melania while firing a Pulitzer Prize winner shows that he is definitely choosing crap over quality. That's where his priorities are.

Being laid off from a newspaper isn't just a sad story for me, as so many other journalists have suffered that experience, especially political cartoonists. Off the top of my head, I can only think of four political cartoonists who have jobs today. I will give my former employer some credit because they allowed me to stay for two more weeks, they gave me all my vacation pay, a good portion of my sick pay, they didn't fight my unemployment benefits, and they let me retain all of my original cartoons. I know some cartoonists who were not allowed to keep their originals.

Today's cartoon is dedicated not just to everyone who has been laid off from a newspaper, but also to everyone who used to love the Washington Post, and it is sad to see what has become of it today.

Tonight, I am attending a benefit for the Fredericksburg Advance. The Advance is an online newspaper in Fredericksburg that I work for. I highly encourage you to seek out alternative publications in your community and to support them. Support them by reading them and supporting them financially. And on that note, you should financially support political cartoons on Substack. And I want to thank you again for supporting me because you are keeping me alive and drawing. Every single subscription helps and is highly appreciated.

Thank you.

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