Jeff Bezos interferes with the independence of “The Washington Post”. Former editor -in -chief of the New York Times: a huge loss for freedom of speech

Jeff Bezos decided that the newspaper will change the editorial line in the opinion department and will put the lyrics there for the most part – as he described – in defense of “free markets and personal freedoms”. Bezos also informed about the departure of the current head of department David Shipley after he did not accept the offer to direct the department in the way the billionaire decided.

Read also: Jeff Bezos interferes with the editorial line “Washington Post”. Not the first time

Bezos' actions were commented on on TVN24 BIS special guest – Howell Raines, former editor -in -chief of The New York Times and the winner of the Pulitzer Award.

Raines said that “this is a sad day for freedom of speech in American journalism, which is currently in great trouble.” – “Washington Post” is one of our historically strong and independent diaries. He was the one who led to Nixon's departure (it is the Watergate – Red scandal). And now Jeff Bezos, who is de facto foreign in the world of journalism, will apply a muzzle to a opinion -forming newspaper. This is a huge loss for American journalism and freedom of speech as such – he said.

– America not only undergoes a period of political confusion. This is also a cultural revolution from the point of view of the role of the American press in our society, said Raines.

In his opinion, at the moment in USA There is “one really independent title” and it is “The New York Times”. According to him, “American journalism at the moment has terrible problems”, and “Trump de facto announced a war against the independent press.” He also stated that “these are dark times for journalism in America.”

– We have never had a conflict of interests like the one we have now in Washington. Jeff Bezos, who now owns “Washington Post”, is really a propagandist and Trump's tube, the contracts of his companies with the federal government are $ 38 billion – he added.

– (Elon – ed.) Musk has many times more contracts to be completed with the federal government. And at the moment he manages this government. We have never had such a scale of the conflict of interest and I do not think that Europe has been on its side at all with the conflict of the interests of such a caliber – he said.

According to the former chief “NYT”, “Western society was blinded via the Internet, which gave strength to ignorant and political malcontents, while giving the public very wide tools.” – And it is ironic that current information guardians – universities, press, officials, public service – lost their role – he added.

The guest of TVN24 Bis was also asked how he thinks you can fight the spreading disinformation. He compared this situation to “attempts to drink water from the hydrant”. – It flies so fast that nobody can keep up. I would lie saying that I am able to come up with any method for forming this flow of information in a way that could be useful and feasible at the information level so that voters can decide who is to rule – he admitted.

“The milk spilled, I have no idea what the future will bring,” he added.

– By postponing journalism to the side, the USA will politically take several dozen years to gather Trump against our democratic standards after this revolution – said the Pulitzer Award winner.

– Journalism is managed by the market. People read, watch what they want to watch and consume. At the moment in the USA we have a situation that has never been. Fifty percent of our citizens – we can see it after two or three last elections – they do not believe in the principle of democracy. And fifty percent of our nation believe in these traditional democratic values, so at the moment we are on the blade of the knife, balancing between democracy and autocracy, 'said Raines.