{"id":311697,"date":"2025-03-13T14:55:10","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T18:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?prc_email_campaign=wapo-columnist-resigns-over-column-criticizing-bezos"},"modified":"2026-06-08T12:25:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T16:25:51","slug":"wapo-columnist-resigns-over-column-criticizing-bezos","status":"publish","type":"prc_email_campaign","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/newsletter\/the-briefing\/wapo-columnist-resigns-over-column-criticizing-bezos\/","title":{"rendered":"WaPo columnist resigns over column criticizing Bezos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2600\ufe0f Happy Thursday!<\/strong>\u00a0<em>The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information<\/em>.<em> <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/sign-up-for-the-briefing\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/sign-up-for-the-briefing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Sign up here!<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>In today<em>\u2019<\/em>s email:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\n<li><strong>Featured story:<\/strong> Washington Post columnist resigns after column critical of Bezos was scrapped<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>In other news:<\/strong> BBC leaders argue for state funding for World Service<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Looking ahead:<\/strong> Meta to begin community fact-checking in U.S.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Chart of the week:<\/strong> How Americans viewed COVID-19 news in March 2020<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udd25\u00a0<strong>Featured story<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ruth Marcus, a longtime editor and columnist for the Washington Post opinion section,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/essay\/why-ruth-marcus-left-the-washington-post\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">resigned on Monday<\/a>\u00a0after her\u00a0<strong>column criticizing owner Jeff Bezos\u2019 changes to the section was scrapped.<\/strong>\u00a0Bezos\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/politics\/washington-post-owner-bezos-says-opinion-pages-shift-from-broad-focus-to-will-defend-free-market-and-personal-liberties\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced last month<\/a>\u00a0that the opinion section would begin writing in \u201csupport and defense\u201d of \u201cpersonal liberties and free markets\u201d and would not publish viewpoints opposing those principles. Writing to Bezos and publisher Will Lewis, who she says killed her column,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/10\/business\/media\/washington-post-ruth-marcus-resigns.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Marcus warned<\/a>\u00a0that the Post\u2019s new policy\u00a0<strong>\u201cthreatens to break the trust of readers that columnists are writing what they believe, and not what the owners has deemed acceptable.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amid\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2024\/10\/16\/republicans-young-adults-now-nearly-as-likely-to-trust-info-from-social-media-as-from-national-news-outlets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">declines in Americans\u2019 trust<\/a>\u00a0in news organizations, a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2022\/06\/14\/journalists-sense-turmoil-in-their-industry-amid-continued-passion-for-their-work\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2022 Pew Research Center survey of U.S. journalists<\/a>\u00a0found that\u00a0<strong>just 14% of journalists said they think the U.S. public has a great deal or fair amount of trust in the information it gets from news organizations\u00a0<\/strong>these days. Most said that Americans as a whole have either some trust (44%) or little to no trust (42%).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2024\/04\/23\/most-americans-say-a-free-press-is-highly-important-to-society\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">survey conducted last year<\/a>\u00a0indicated one possible source of this distrust: 84% of Americans said they believe that U.S. news organizations are at least somewhat\u00a0<strong>influenced by corporations and financial interests<\/strong>, including 51% who said they are influenced a great deal in this way.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udccc\u00a0<strong>In other news<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\n<li><strong>BBC leaders <\/strong>argue World Service <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/2025\/mar\/12\/bbc-world-service-funding-call-counter-disinformation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">should be fully state-funded<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Wikipedia volunteer editors<\/strong> splintering over \u201cedit wars\u201d on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-03-07\/wikipedia-editors-struggle-to-moderate-conflict-in-gaza\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">framing of current events in Gaza and Israel<\/a>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n<li>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/style\/media\/2025\/03\/11\/anas-baba-npr-gaza-profile\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">profile of Anas Baba<\/a>, one of the few journalists working full time for a U.S. outlet still in <strong>Gaza<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n<li>How <strong>Trump administration\u2019s proposed tariffs<\/strong> are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cjr.org\/analysis\/tariffs-canada-newsprint.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">affecting newspapers<\/a> &nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Judge allows <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2025\/03\/08\/judge-allows-authors-ai-copyright-lawsuit-against-meta-to-move-forward\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>AI copyright lawsuit<\/strong><\/a> from authors to move forward<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Vermont lawmakers <\/strong>introduce bill requiring the state to buy more ads <a href=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/2025\/03\/11\/vermont-news-media-ask-the-state-to-buy-local\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">funding Vermont news organizations<\/a> &nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Wesley Lowery<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cjr.org\/news\/wesley-lowery-exits-investigative-reporting-workshop-and-american-university-following-title-ix-allegations.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">leaves Investigative Reporting Workshop<\/a> after allegations of misconduct&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udcc5\u00a0<strong>Looking ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Meta<\/strong> will <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2025\/03\/13\/meta-is-launching-community-notes-in-the-us-next-week\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">soon begin rolling out<\/a> its new <strong>Community Notes<\/strong> program in the U.S. The system will <strong>rely on users to flag false or misleading information<\/strong> posted on the company&#8217;s platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This comes amid <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2025\/02\/19\/how-americans-view-elon-musk-and-mark-zuckerberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">relatively negative views<\/a> toward <strong>Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg<\/strong> in the U.S. Two-thirds of Americans say they have a very or mostly unfavorable opinion of Zuckerberg, while just a quarter have a favorable view.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most people who say they regularly get news on <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2024\/06\/12\/facebook-users-experiences-with-news\/#views-about-news-on-facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2024\/06\/12\/instagram-users-experiences-with-news\/#views-about-news-on-instagram\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Instagram<\/a> \u2013 including majorities of both Democrats and Republicans \u2013 report <strong>seeing news there that seems inaccurate<\/strong> at least sometimes, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2024\/06\/12\/how-americans-get-news-on-tiktok-x-facebook-and-instagram\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2024 Pew Research Center survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udcca\u00a0<strong>Chart of the week<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today marks the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2025\/02\/12\/5-years-later-america-looks-back-at-the-impact-of-covid-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">five-year anniversary<\/a> of when the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/03\/13\/politics\/donald-trump-emergency\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">first Trump administration announced<\/a> a nationwide emergency to allocate resources to combat the spread of COVID-19.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/03\/18\/americans-immersed-in-covid-19-news-most-think-media-are-doing-fairly-well-covering-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2020 Center survey<\/a> conducted the same week, <strong>about nine-in-ten Americans (89%) were following news about the outbreak very or fairly closely.<\/strong> While 70% said at the time that the news media had covered COVID-19 at least somewhat well, a majority also said that the media had either greatly (37%) or slightly (25%) exaggerated the risks of the virus. And about half (48%) said they had seen at least some made-up news about COVID-19.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-640-wide\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e7e3e3\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e7e3e3;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/03\/PJ_2020.03.18_Coronavirus-News1_0-01.png?resize=480,731 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/03\/PJ_2020.03.18_Coronavirus-News1_0-01.png?resize=782,1192 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/03\/PJ_2020.03.18_Coronavirus-News1_0-01.png?resize=840,1280 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"975\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/03\/PJ_2020.03.18_Coronavirus-News1_0-01.png?w=640\" alt=\"A graphic showing how Americans are following COVID-19 news very closely and think media are covering it very or somewhat well. But most think the media have exaggerated the risks, and about half say they have seen at least some made-up news about COVID-19.\" class=\"wp-image-202148 not-transparent\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read more about <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2025\/02\/12\/5-years-later-america-looks-back-at-the-impact-of-covid-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">how America has changed since the start of COVID-19<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\ud83d\udc4b That&#8217;s all for this week.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Jacob Liedke, Sarah Naseer, Christopher St. Aubin, Luxuan Wang and Emily Tomasik. It is edited by Michael Lipka and copy edited by David Kent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Do you like this newsletter? Email us at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:journalism@pewresearch.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">journalism@pewresearch.org<\/a> or fill out this <a href=\"https:\/\/us1.list-manage.com\/survey?u=434f5d1199912232d416897e4&amp;id=449f3c3d35&amp;attribution=false\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/us1.list-manage.com\/survey?u=434f5d1199912232d416897e4&amp;id=449f3c3d35&amp;attribution=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">two-question survey<\/a> to tell us what you think<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2600\ufe0f Happy Thursday!\u00a0The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information. Sign up here! In today\u2019s email: \ud83d\udd25\u00a0Featured story Ruth Marcus, a longtime editor and columnist for the Washington Post opinion section,\u00a0resigned on Monday\u00a0after her\u00a0column criticizing owner Jeff Bezos\u2019 changes to the section was scrapped.\u00a0Bezos\u00a0announced last month\u00a0that the opinion section would begin [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5591,"template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","prc_watchers":[],"prc_email_subject":"WaPo columnist resigns over column criticizing Bezos","prc_email_preview_text":"Plus, BBC leaders argue for state funding for World Service","prc_email_template_slug":"","prc_email_mailchimp_audience_id":"","prc_email_mailchimp_segment_id":"","prc_email_mailchimp_campaign_id":"","prc_email_mailchimp_campaign_admin_url":"","prc_email_mailchimp_campaign_status":""},"categories":[],"prc_newsletter_list":[3083],"_post_visibility":[2643],"formats":[],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-311697","prc_email_campaign","type-prc_email_campaign","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","_post_visibility-hidden-on-index"],"label":"Newsletter","post_parent":0,"word_count":664,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/newsletter\/the-briefing\/wapo-columnist-resigns-over-column-criticizing-bezos\/","art_direction":{"A1":{"id":"5591","rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png?w=564&h=317&crop=1","width":564,"height":317,"chartArt":false},"A2":{"id":"5591","rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"chartArt":false},"A3":{"id":"5591","rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png?w=194&h=110&crop=1","width":194,"height":110,"chartArt":false},"A4":{"id":"5591","rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"chartArt":false},"XL":{"id":"5591","rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png?w=720&h=405&crop=1","width":720,"height":405,"chartArt":false},"social":{"id":"5591","rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png?w=1200&h=628&crop=1","width":1200,"height":628,"chartArt":false}},"_embeds":[],"prc_checklist":{},"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[],"datacite_doi":"","prc_seo_data":{"title":"WaPo columnist resigns over column criticizing Bezos","description":"\u2600\ufe0f Happy Thursday!\u00a0The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information. Sign up here! In today\u2019s email: Featured story: Washington Post columnist resigns after column critical of&hellip;","og_title":"WaPo columnist resigns over column criticizing Bezos","og_description":"","schema_type":"WebPage","noindex":false,"canonical_url":"","primary_terms":[],"custom_schema":[],"og_image":"5591","indexnow_submitted_at":null,"gsc_index_status":{"verdict":"PASS","coverage_state":"Submitted and indexed","robotstxt_state":"ALLOWED","indexing_state":"INDEXING_ALLOWED","last_crawl_time":"2026-06-06T12:27:24Z","page_fetch_state":"SUCCESSFUL","crawled_as":"MOBILE","mobile_verdict":"VERDICT_UNSPECIFIED","mobile_issues":[],"rich_results_verdict":"PASS","rich_results_issues":[],"inspection_link":"https:\/\/search.google.com\/search-console\/inspect?resource_id=sc-domain:pewresearch.org&id=mzyfcZRqh7EqjukcriG2Vw&utm_medium=link&utm_source=api","fetched_at":1780935962}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prc_email_campaign\/311697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prc_email_campaign"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/prc_email_campaign"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prc_email_campaign\/311697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":312966,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prc_email_campaign\/311697\/revisions\/312966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311697"},{"taxonomy":"prc_newsletter_list","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prc_newsletter_list?post=311697"},{"taxonomy":"_post_visibility","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_post_visibility?post=311697"},{"taxonomy":"formats","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/formats?post=311697"},{"taxonomy":"workflow-status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/workflow-status?post=311697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}