The Washington Post opinion head departs after Jeff Bezos shifts focus on liberties, free markets

Washington Post shifts focus to personal liberties and free markets, excluding opposing viewpoints, causing backlash and subscription loss.

The Washington Post editorial page editor David Shipley is leaving the paper as its opinion section shifts its focus to supporting and defending the topics of personal liberties and free markets, owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos wrote in a memo to staff on Wednesday (February 26, 2025).

The section will cover other topics too, but will not publish viewpoints that oppose those two pillars, Mr. Bezos wrote. Mr. Shipley declined his offer to stay on, Mr. Bezos wrote.

The move — which reflects the The WashingtonPost's narrowing of focus from a general-interest opinion section that reflected a wide swath of views — follows the paper’s decision in October to stop its decades-long practice of endorsing presidential candidates.

In his memo to staff on Wednesday (February 26, 2025), Mr. Bezos framed the shift in both ideological and practical terms, writing that these viewpoints are underserved in the market.

“I am of America and for America, and proud to be so,” Mr. Bezos wrote. “Our country did not get here by being typical. And a big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else.”

The changes were defended by CEO and publisher William Lewis, who joined the newspaper in early 2024 after working for outlets controlled by Rupert Murdoch.

"This is not about siding with any political party. This is about being crystal clear about what we stand for as a newspaper," Lewis wrote in a memo to staff that was seen by Reuters.