Fox News’ Howard Kurtz discussed on ‘America's Newsroom’ about Jeff Bezos' choice that the Washington Post would not endorse any presidential candidates for the 2024 election which indicates internal struggle. A pattern among well established media publications shows increased clashes as employees publicly push their employers to take specific editorial views consistent with their own beliefs.
Legacy Media Faces Employee Backlash Over Differing Editorial Decisions
Several notable clashes between media groups and staff arose recently with the New York Times social media revolt after Tom Cotton’s op-ed release in 2020. A similar example is with CNN where employees had public outcries after their network Trump town hall that was broadcast in 2023. These cases plus the ongoing issue with Washington Post represent conflicts happening across various media outlets during 2024 reflecting internal unrest.
NBC News Grapples with Ronna McDaniel Controversy Resulting in Swift Termination After Widespread Criticism
NBC News faced a staff rebellion when the company decided to hire Ronna McDaniel former Republican National Committee chairwoman as a contributor during March causing many prominent members to speak against decision. MSNBC's liberal figures such as Joe Scarborough on "Morning Joe" vocally opposed the hiring because of McDaniel's alleged actions from 2020 elections regarding blocking certifications of Michigan's election. NBC News faced criticism internally among news anchors and reporters including Chuck Todd’s "Meet the Press" following Kristen Welker interview with McDaniel on air that served as her sole appearance on NBC before firing .
Rachel Maddow MSNBC’s star publicly criticized the “inexplicable” decision by NBC to bring on Ronna McDaniel with others like Nicolle Wallace Joy Reid and Jen Psaki adding their personal condemnation regarding decision by network leadership. NBC Universal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde apologized to his staff for this incident when his decision quickly turned very bad with staff publicly opposing decision. Cesar Conde decided to terminate McDaniel's employment just four days after the hiring after taking personal responsibility for the problems caused by his initial actions in an effort to keep a "cohesive" environment.
CBS News Under Scrutiny after Ta-Nehisi Coates Interview on CBS Mornings
CBS News faced internal conflicts during October because staff publicly rejected colleague Tony Dokoupil’s "CBS Mornings" interview with left leaning author Ta-Nehisi Coates. CBS co-anchor Tony Dokoupil questioned the complex views within Coates new book The Message where he questioned some of his writing. The conversation from CBS involved content where Dokoupil referenced specific topics using a tone of extreme distrust and this created immense employee response and caused the company to conduct internal reviews.
CBS's internal review determined that interview failed to adhere to its "editorial standards" according to information obtained by the Free Press . Tony Dokoupil was however not punished although CBS forced Tony to engage with network's Race and Culture Unit to address issues like body language during the debate that also were noted as concerning. Tony Dokoupil showed regret to staff amid emotional backlash even though network legal correspondent Jan Crawford as well as Paramount Global Chair Shari Redstone supported Dokoupil while CBS CEO George Cheeks reinforced the networks leaders during a formal memo.
Los Angeles Times and Washington Post Opt Out of Endorsing Presidential Candidates Causing Staff Uproar
The Los Angeles Times and Washington Post faced their own controversies for their choices not to endorse any presidential candidates during the 2024 race causing significant disruption in the newsroom environment. Los Angeles Times owner Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong chose to omit any formal endorsements causing several resignations including those from Mariel Garza editor and editorial board members Robert Greene plus Karin Klein in protest. Columnist Harry Litman cited a “shameful capitulation” when offering his resignation in protest because of conservative views of new members on staff.
The Washington Post followed by also announcing a discontinuation of presidential endorsements under the new decision made by its billionaire owner Jeff Bezos who also halted endorsement plans for Kamala Harris leading to 20 members from Washington Post signing a public letter opposing that choice which is also unprecedented event. Robert Kagan the Post's editor-at-large as well as multiple members on their editorial staff stepped down during time to show disagreement causing large disruption. Jeff Bezos’ new policy choices caused boycotts among many liberal readers causing the Post to lose 250,000 subscribers that caused losses around $77 million. Jeff Bezos defended that he chose non-endorsement of candidate policy due to increasing public distrust within media but then also expressed regret over timing.
Jeff Bezos Addresses Waning Public Trust in Media Defending Editorial Decisions
Jeff Bezos addressed the declining trust within media after he had to make drastic decisions regarding the endorsements on staff within Washington Post . Bezos claims in his op-ed accuracy is required for all media to gain credibility acknowledging the general public widely views current media organizations as being biased. Jeff Bezos further mentions victim mentality is not the way to address this significant and ongoing public problem stating action needs to be taken in order to take accountability for loss of trust. Bezos claimed this action of non-endorsement as initial step toward credibility recovery with the hope that the paper would grow the trust with this approach.
Joseph A Wulfsohn who works as media reporter for Fox News Digital continues reporting on major media news stories providing insightful content to a very complex news cycle that continues to be controversial among different groups. His contacts inside various organization allows him to provide high levels of up-to-date detail to better share with the broader viewing audience from many outlets.