American newspapers have now conceded to the 47th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. In the 21st century, the once great and widely celebrated America has now succumbed to fascism, and is rejecting any semblance of democracy and order. Once the news and our journalists, which are the country’s lifeline, the people who the American public rely on, the people whose life mission is to seek and report the truth, have conceded to a fascist regime or a dictatorship, then we know that we have truly entered the dark ages. Feb. 4 marked one of the worst days for journalism in the history of our country and symbolized the true end of the America that we once knew.
Maryah Nelson, a college student, expressed what she thought it would mean for America when journalists have conceded to a corrupt presidential administration.
“It’s more egregious because we won’t know what the truth is anymore,” Nelson said. “Right now we have a variety of different news channels, but when journalists concede to a president who acts more like a dictator, then they will eventually try to control our thinking and try to spin stories to fit their narrative. Also, the news would only be coming from the slant of the Republican party and then our right to freedom of speech would be at risk. And our government leaders would basically be telling us that our opinion does not matter. Nevertheless, our days will be dark.”
True patriots grieve for the America that was a safe haven for the less fortunate and realized that immigrants play vital roles in our communities. We grieve for the America that celebrated African Americans, and was on the path to achieving true equality, the America that looked at a person and saw their potential for greatness, not preconceived notions because of their skin color. We grieve for the America that was striving to provide women with the same opportunities as men and give them equal footing in society. We grieve for the America that lifted up LGBTQIA+ Americans and put them on the front stage when they had so long been forced into hiding and denied permission to exist just because of someone else’s ignorance.
But that America is now struggling to survive. It’s like a small flame trying to take hold amidst a winter storm, like a light that is fighting not to be consumed by darkness. With that darkness being fear, hate, prejudice, aggression, revenge, and cruel indifference. Those are the principles of the current presidential administration and the values that tech billionaire, Jeff Bezos, has now submitted to after he fired over 30% of the journalists that work for the Washington Post.
The sports and books section were completely decimated with the local and international sections being significantly reduced. And over 300 out of the 800 journalists in their newsroom were fired from their jobs according to The New York Times. What’s more is that the staff at The Washington Post described this mass firing as a “bloodbath” and Martin Baron, the former executive editor of the newspaper, expressed that Feb. 4 “ranks among the darkest days” in the newspaper’s history. Not to mention, Baron also claimed that Bezos participated in “near-instant, self – inflicted brand destruction.” And the absolute slashing done to The Washington Post could not be a clearer representation of that.
Nelson also explained what she thought about the elimination of the entire sports and books sections at the Washington Post.
M. Harvey, an HR manager, then indicated what he thought about Martin Baron’s, the former executive of The Washington Post’s comments about the actions of the current owner, tech billionaire, Jeff Bezos.
“Bezos blocked the endorsement of Former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024,” Harvey said. “This led to a cancellation of approximately 8% or 200,000 of The Washington Post’s digital descriptions. This in and of itself, appears to be self-sabotage.”
Destruction befalls a brand when you decide to concede to a president who acts more like a king or an authoritarian. Destruction befalls a brand when you decide to surrender to a president who likes to engineer the truth and create completely new narratives. You know that you have severely damaged the brand of your publication when you are able to look around and see that you are now on the side of utter destruction and chaos and have only perpetuated the cycle of tyranny that has been plaguing America like it never has before, when you know that future generations will be able to look back at the past and realize that you were on the wrong side of history.
And this is not just damage done to the brand of any publication, this is a stain on the reputation of one of the legacy newspapers in America. The Washington Post is known for the actions of reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein who uncovered the Watergate Scandal in the 1970s, and found there to be corruption in the administration of former President Richard Nixon. This also ultimately led to his resignation and the end of the presidency of a person who held few differences to that of Donald Trump. That was who the Washington Post used to be, a publication that carried out incredible feats of journalism, research, and reporting, and a newspaper that was once widely acclaimed and celebrated across America and even the world.
Harvey also conveyed how he thought the Washington Post’s legacy has now been tainted because of this mass firing of journalists.
Now, The Washington Post has been turned into nothing but a concentrated pool of capitulation and outright cowardice. The Washington Post has now been reduced to nothing more than a tool to be used by the current president to carry out his inhumane and divisive agenda, and it’s truly a saddening sight to watch. One of the greatest newspapers in America has now fallen and it’s found itself subject to one of the most dangerous things in the world and that’s human greed.
On top of that, the complete hypocrisy in the new motto that Jeff Bezos himself adopted in 2017 should be noted. At the very top of the website of The Washington Post, viewers can see the slogan, “Democracy Dies in Darkness”, but the current actions made by the owner of this publication only work to contradict this motto. The very point of this slogan is to emphasize the importance of investigative journalism and advocate for transparency in government. Yet Jeff Bezos has chosen to concede to a corrupt presidential administration by choosing to kill the endorsement of presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, at the last minute, breaking a 36-year tradition. And by choosing to acquire the rights to a documentary about Melania Trump, and by choosing to fire about one – third of the journalists that work for the Washington Post.
Lastly, Harvey expressed how Jeff Bezos is contradicting his own motto of “Democracy Dies in Darkness” that he adopted for The Washington Post.
“Bezos is contradicting his own motto because he is one of the individuals turning off the lights,” Harvey said. “Journalism is light. That is why the free press is so important. The press exists to ensure that ‘we the people’ are informed and see what would otherwise be hidden. Fewer journalists equate to less scrutiny, less reporting, and less transparency.”
