WAPO editor responds to Bernie Sanders accusations that WAPO coverage biased against him by Bezos

[ehrnst]

The executive editor of The Washington Post hit back at Sen. Bernie Sanders' suggestion that the paper's coverage of the presidential candidate is linked to its owner's business interests, calling the accusation a "conspiracy theory."

Marty Baron responded in a statement Monday evening to Sanders' words during a stump speech earlier in the day. While delivering remarks in New Hampshire, the independent Vermont senator, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, suggested there was a link between the coverage he receives in the Post and his rhetoric toward Amazon.

"I talk about (Amazon's taxes) all of the time," Sanders said in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. "And then I wonder why The Washington Post, which is owned by Jeff Bezos, who owns Amazon, doesn't write particularly good articles about me. I don't know why."

In a statement provided to CNN on Monday evening, Baron responded, saying, "Sen. Sanders is a member of a large club of politicians -- of every ideology -- who complain about their coverage."

"Contrary to the conspiracy theory the senator seems to favor, Jeff Bezos allows our newsroom to operate with full independence, as our reporters and editors can attest," Baron added.

Earlier this year, Baron told The New York Times that Bezos "has never gotten involved in our reporting or our final stories." Baron added at the time, "People surmise that it must be difficult to cover Jeff and Amazon. But we've gone five-and-a-half years with his ownership, and he hasn't once intervened in any way."

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/08/12/politics/bernie-sanders-washington-post/index.html

About Marty Baron: https://www.aspenideas.org/speakers/martin-baron

[Zoonart]

1. Not a good look for you, Bernie.

[ehrnst]

6. Going after Marty Baron's credibility didn't work for the Boston Catholic Archdiocese either.

Baron is not afraid to speak truth to power.

[Zoonart]

12. True...

not lost on me that WAPO has been doing a lot of the heavy lifting.

[LincolnRossiter]

27. By the time you're blaming the press you're already losing the PR battle...

Bernie pulled the same crap in 2016 (about the press and DNC), though Hillary beat him:

34 contests to 23 (remember that the territories vote in the primaries)

2842 delegates to 1865

and 16.9 million votes to 13.2 million (55-43%)

So he likes to whine just to whine.

[Me.]

2. Just Another Day With A BS Complaint

just like the yesterdays and probably the tomorrows

[bucolic_frolic]

3. yeah, well there is free license

and then there is prudence. like don't tell the boss off or criticize his tie or his cars or anything else.

[ehrnst]

9. You think that's what Marty Baron does with Bezos? (nt)

[bucolic_frolic]

11. I have no idea

but every employee of every company is aware they may meet the owner someday. could be a holiday party, an awards banquet, a retirement send-off. who wants to make it awkward?

[ehrnst]

13. You certainly implied it. People told Marty Baron that the Catholic Archdiecese ran Boston.

He still exposed the child molestation coverup. Talk about getting in hot water with the higher ups...

Makes no sense that he would start toadying now.

You really think that he would let an "awkward encounter at a work party" determine newspaper coverage?

Your newsrooms don't get 14 Pulitzers being timid. And you have the choice to work anywhere you want, and on your own terms with that kind of cred.

Marty Baron is executive editor of The Washington Post, overseeing more than 800 journalists. News organizations under his leadership have won 14 Pulitzer Prizes, including seven at the Post, six at The Boston Globe, and one at The Miami Herald. In Boston, he launched an investigation of the Catholic Church’s coverup of clergy sexual abuse that won the Pulitzer Prize for public service and was portrayed in the movie Spotlight, which won the Academy Award for best picture in 2016. Baron also held top posts at The New York Times and Los Angeles Times. He received the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in Media in 2017.

[Princetonian]

4. The WaPo editor doth protest too much.

I stand with Joe in applauding Bernie.

Link to tweet

/photo/1

[ehrnst]

7. I guess that's one way to avoid what the OP is about.

Right - this guy is "protesting too much." He can make his own terms when he gets hired by a news org.

Marty Baron is executive editor of The Washington Post, overseeing more than 800 journalists. News organizations under his leadership have won 14 Pulitzer Prizes, including seven at the Post, six at The Boston Globe, and one at The Miami Herald. In Boston, he launched an investigation of the Catholic Church’s coverup of clergy sexual abuse that won the Pulitzer Prize for public service and was portrayed in the movie Spotlight, which won the Academy Award for best picture in 2016. Baron also held top posts at The New York Times and Los Angeles Times. He received the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in Media in 2017.

But Bernie isn't the first politician to go after WAPO for their less than adoring coverage, and blame it on Bezos. Maybe they could get together for drinks and commiserate. I'm sure there are many Trump supporters that feel the same way you do about Marty Baron:

"It’s interesting that you say that, because every hour we’re getting calls from reporters from the Washington Post asking ridiculous questions. And I will tell you. This is owned as a toy by Jeff Bezos, who controls Amazon. Amazon is getting away with murder, tax-wise. He’s using the Washington Post for power. " - Trump

Trump Directs Government to Punish Washington Post Owner

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/trump-punish-amazon-washington-post-owner-jeff-bezos.html

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

31. Bernie Sanders should know better than this ridiculous attack on The Washington Post

Link to tweet

[ehrnst]

36. "Sanders walks back suggestion Bezos meddled in Washington Post coverage"

I guess one of his inner circle told him how bad it looked that he was trying to discredit a renowned journalist like Marty Baron as being compromised by Bezos, because he was upset that WAPO printed a story on his campaign staff's labor dispute.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/13/bernie-sanders-bezos-washington-post-1461360

[comradebillyboy]

5. He certainly complains a lot about his press coverage.

The press really doesn't treat Bernie like a serious contender. If they did, his coverage would be a lot worse.

[PJMcK]

8. Hey, Bernie!

You sound like Trump.

Don't do that. You're better than that.

[ehrnst]

10. Maybe Bernie and Trump should get together for drinks and compare complaints about WAPO

Trump Directs Government to Punish Washington Post Owner

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/trump-punish-amazon-washington-post-owner-jeff-bezos.html

Link to tweet

[kstewart33]

14. A petty accusation, an effective response.

A stark contrast to the demeanor of Elizabeth Warren.

Eventually Warren and Sanders are going to have to compete directly with each other for left Democrats. My bet is on Warren.

[ehrnst]

16. If Baron hadn't responded, many would think that was an admission of guilt.

Warren is secure enough not to need to vilify the free and respected press when they don't fawn on her. Unlike some, she doesn't surround herself with a bubble of 'yes men.'

[kstewart33]

28. Agree.

As her campaign continues, it's becoming more obvious that to her credit, Warren is not a typical politician or campaigner.

[SouthernProgressive]

15. He is just flinging poo in every single direction.

Most of it just seems to be hitting the fan that he is yelling under.

He literally sounds like Trump.

[comradebillyboy]

17. You are being too kind in your assessment.

[nycbos]

18. Picking a fight with one of the greatest journalists of this time is a bad idea.

[ehrnst]

21. Yep. (nt)

[mopinko]

19. ya look more pathetic every day bs.

such a pernicious force in our politics.
i wish he would just go home to vt.

[ehrnst]

20. But those crowds of college kids. Those cheering crowds...

You really expect him to let loose of a moment before he has to?

And stuff like this:

[NYMinute]

23. Those days are gone forever

since the college kids realized BS can't deliver tuition relief/debt relief.

(and since the birds' union refused to land on his podium)

[mcar]

25. Oh good gad!

[Hortensis]

26. +100. He's speaking to the deeply inculcated beliefs of

his most zealous followers, implanted by their leader of course, but no one else. Even he can't possibly expect to win (surely?), so he must be hoping to...what? Get to 15% in a few states so he can send some angrily deluded chanters to this convention too? Position himself as a media-worthy bomb-thrower in prep for a third-party spoiler performance?

I strongly suspect that, before Warren left a vacuum of demand for big solutions in 2014, Sanders was expecting to quietly finish out his long senate career as an obscure back-bencher, without significant achievements but very well paid and benefited. Now, fortune having tossed him a ticket to the national stage, my best guess is that he simply really, really doesn't want to leave it and, if so, am wondering what he'll do to stay. His unrequited passion for class warfare and fantasy of taking over the party from the liberal coalition that doesn't recognize his greatness at least are real. Those small, anonymous donations are still coming in. Russia probably can still make use of him.

Mopinko, he may have to be carried home when he can't stand any more.

[ehrnst]

34. Imagine thinking a place that employs Jeff Stein, Dave Weigel and Elizabeth Breunig

is "out to get" Bernie.

[Hortensis]

35. Yes, imagine. His zealots trust him and will believe anything he says.

Remember those rioting in Las Vegas, actually getting violent, because his campaign mislead them about the process and then followed that up by specifically telling them they were being cheated?

This will get them them even more angry and distrustful about everyone but him, as well trained to this political mode as the trumpsters are on the right.

It's late in the day and I'm not in the mood to toss it off with a sigh. Cynical manipulation of vulnerable people who may never again be willing to vote for any Democrats is wrong. This is NOT what we are.

[NYMinute]

22. BS is following Trump's playbook

Slogans, platitudes and conspiracy theories.

[Gothmog]

32. I've reported on Bernie Sanders for years. A free press won't give him what he wants.

This is an interesting article https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/02/26/ive-reported-bernie-sanders-years-free-press-cant-give-him-what-he-wants/

Though Sanders understands the problem, his solutions leave something to be desired. The way the senator sees it, the job of a journalist is merely to transcribe his diatribes unchallenged and broadcast his sermons unfiltered.

“He would not be happy with anything that did not basically publish his press release in its entirety — word for word, quote for quote,” said Graff, who spent nearly three decades reporting in Vermont for the AP.

Back when Sanders held regular news conferences in Vermont — it’s been a few years — he typically refused to answer questions unrelated to his chosen topic of the day. That’s problematic for local reporters, who rarely have the opportunity to quiz the members of Congress they cover without spokespeople running interference.

At a 1985 forum on the media, the late Vermont political columnist Peter Freyne complained to Sanders, then the mayor of Burlington, that he had reneged on his promise to hold regular press conferences, pointing out that “When asked a question you don’t want to answer, you leave the room.”

[mcar]

24. Don't mess with Marty Baron

[Cha]

29. "Contrary to the conspiracy theory the senator seems to favor, Jeff Bezos allows our newsroom to..

operate with full independence, as our reporters and editors can attest,"

Just as I suspected.

Not a good look for BS to be spreading this.

[Gothmog]

30. From my twitter feed

Link to tweet

[Tarheel_Dem]

33. If any other primary candidate critiques the media for biased coverage, they get excoriated...

but with 20+ candidates in the mix, they can't cover BS' rallies and every utterance like they did in '16. BS & Drumphf got more free media than any campaign in modern history.

[Cha]

37. Oh yeah.. this is staying on

the front page!

Mahalo, ehrnst!

[aidbo]

38. Article from FAIR in 2016

Washington Post Ran 16 Negative Stories on Bernie Sanders in 16 Hours

https://fair.org/home/washington-post-ran-16-negative-stories-on-bernie-sanders-in-16-hours/

While the headlines don’t necessarily reflect all the nuances of the text, as I’ve noted before, only 40 percent of the public reads past the headlines, so how a story is labeled is just as important, if not more so, than the substance of the story itself.

The Washington Post was sold in 2013 to libertarian Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who is worth approximately $49.8 billion.

Despite being ideologically opposed to the Democratic Party (at least in principle), Bezos has enjoyed friendly ties with both the Obama administration and the CIA. As Michael Oman-Reagan notes, Amazon was awarded a $16.5 million contract with the State Department the last year Clinton ran it. Amazon also has over $600 million in contracts with the Central Intelligence Agency, an organization Sanders said he wanted to abolish in 1974, and still says he “had a lot of problems with.” FAIR has previously criticized the Washington Post for failing to disclose, when reporting on tech giant Uber, that Bezos also owns more than $1 billion in Uber stock.

The Washington Post’s editorial stance has been staunchly anti-Sanders, though the paper contends that its editorial board is entirely independent of both Bezos and the paper’s news reporting.

[ehrnst]

39. See my response:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1287&pid=239559

[aidbo]

40. Nah.

[ehrnst]

43. Yeah.

Got nothing?

[aidbo]

46. No I've got all I need, thank you.

Did you need something?

[ehrnst]

47. Still nothing?

That's your go-to when you can't refute or rebut, isn't it?

https://upload.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1287&pid=240426

[George II]

42. Wasn't that during the 2016 primaries?

[ehrnst]

44. Yes. And those articles aren't all 'negative' if you actually read them...(nt)

[aidbo]

45. does that change any of the facts?

Same editor since 2012. Same owner since 2013.

[ehrnst]

48. And?

[Cha]

49. lol@How Dare they!?

[SidDithers]

41. DU rec...nt

Sid

[Gothmog]

50. From Nate Silver-sanders complaints about media coverage do not hold up

Senator Warren has just as liberal or even more liberal platform compared to sanders and she is not being hurt in the polls or getting bad press coverage

Link to tweet

[stonecutter357]

51. K&R

[Cha]

52. KICK

[betsuni]

53. K&R