Jeff Bezos’s control over the Washington Post highlights the dangers of media ownership. At The Citizen, we ensure diversity of opinion and independence.
Back in the glory days of newspapers, there was a cynical saying that “freedom of the press belongs to those who own it…” Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos has just proved that, in his case, the saying is resoundingly accurate.
This week, the billionaire owner of Amazon – who bought the Post some years ago – further weaponised the newspaper in support of his new big buddy, US President Donald Trump, directing that its opinion pages would, henceforth, only contain pieces on “personal liberties and free markets”.
Other opinions were not welcome in his publication, he made clear.
Earlier, he caused the cancellation of tens of thousands of reader subscriptions after he vetoed the paper’s editors’ decision to endorse Kamala Harris in the presidential election.
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Why should we care about that in South Africa?
We assure you, our reader, that no-one tells us what to write in The Citizen and, allowing for laws and for good taste, nothing is out of bounds on our opinion pages or, indeed, in our letters columns.
Diversity of opinion is critical to a healthy democracy and that is one of our founding principles, along with accuracy and fairness in our reporting.
We serve you – and no-one else.
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