The Washington Post abruptly removed its politics editor without giving him a reason for the decision, he claimed — the latest shakeup at the left-leaning paper owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Dan Eggen, a veteran political writer who was named senior politics editor just two years ago, said he was “crushed” after being informed he will be “removed” from his role, according to an email he sent that was obtained by Lachlan Cartwright.
“I struggled with how to write this message since there is an element of begging to it that is not particularly attractive. But what the hey: I was informed Monday that I will be removed as senior politics editor at the end of the year. I will leave it to others to explain why,” the email said.
It was not clear whether Eggen will remain with publication.
A WaPo spokesperson said they don’t comment on personnel decisions when contacted by the New York Post on Thursday.
Eggen did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
At the time of his promotion in 2022, Eggen had worked on the Washington Post’s politics desk for over a decade and had “established himself as one of our sharpest and most agile editors, elevating our daily report by driving scoops and accountability reporting on some of journalism’s most competitive beats,” the paper said.
His dismissal as politics editor comes as WaPo scrambles to come to grips with Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
The publication was roiled by Bezos’ decision to kill an endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris just weeks before the election. Several veteran staffers resigned, including members of the editorial board, and the paper lost about 10% of its total subscribers, over 250,000 people.
Bezos defended the move in an Oct. 28 op-ed, saying that endorsements create a “perception of bias” the paper was “failing” in its mission to be a trusted news source.
He reportedly wants to hire more conservative opinion writers.
The paper — which gained fame for its Watergate coverage — has faced accusations of liberal bias. The Trump campaign alleged to the FEC that WaPo made illegal in-kind contributions to Harris’ campaign after it was reported that the company was paying to boost stories critical of Trump on social media platforms.
Earlier this week, WaPo columnist Jen Rubin — who had threatened to quit the paper if Trump won, but has since backtracked — faced backlash for claiming Republicans “want to kill your kids” on an episode of her podcast.
“You have to boil it down to nuts and bolts and you have to be pithy. What do I mean by pithy? How about this: Republicans want to kill your kids. It’s actually true,” she said in the viral clip.
The Washington Post isn’t the only paper rethinking its approach to political coverage following Trump’s victory.
LA Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who also blocked his paper from making an endorsement, has vowed the outlet will have a “new Editorial Board” and promised that “voices from all sides [will] be heard.”
“If it’s news, it should just be the facts, period. And if it’s an opinion, that’s maybe an opinion of the news, and that’s what I call now a voice,” he told Fox News.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.