Bezos Seen Averting Perceived Conflicts of Interest by Staying on Post’s Editorial Sidelines

Bezos won’t be leading the paper day-to-day, he said in a memo to employees (http://wapo.st/172DR5N), which experts said signals he'll leave editorial operations to professionals. Bezos’s high-tech expertise may help the paper further refine its online operations, a plus for journalism if that improves The Post’s financial fortunes, said professors of journalism and the head of the Radio Television Digital News Association. The Post’s TV stations and cable systems and other assets like education will be retained by the current Post Co. owners. “The values of The Post do not need changing,” wrote Bezos. “The paper’s duty will remain to its readers and not to the private interests of its owners. We will continue to follow the truth wherever it leads."

That Bezos has no board of directors at the Post to answer to, because as the sole proprietor he’s the boss, means that avoiding the appearance of conflicts between his investments and the paper’s coverage rests “squarely” on him, said Kevin Smith, deputy director of Ohio State University’s Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism. Like others we interviewed, Smith, also ethics committee chairman of the Society of Professional Journalists, said he’s giving Bezos the benefit of the doubt that the entrepreneur will keep to his public statements about not interfering with the paper. RTDNA Executive Director Mike Cavender doesn’t “see any issue at all” in terms of an appearance of conflicting aims between Bezos and the paper, he said. “I just don’t see an issue there.” The Post “will cover news stories and disclose any potential conflicts just as we always have done,” said a spokeswoman for Post Co. Tuesday night.

The National Association of Black Journalists, “surprised and saddened,” by the deal, worries about “negative consequences” for the staff of the paper, such as what usually follows such takeovers, said President Bob Butler. “Many in our industry believed that if ever a newspaper owner could successfully innovate through these difficult financial times, it would have been the Graham family” that controls the Post Co. and decided to sell, said NABJ. “Reasons for encouragement in the choice of Bezos as the Post’s buyer” are that both sides said the deal won’t prompt layoffs and that Bezos will keep on the paper’s leadership including the publisher, said the association. “We especially hope that decision will extend to Post Managing Editor Kevin Merida, an award-winning NABJ member and the first African American to hold the newspaper’s No. 2 editorial job."

An NABJ member who also has taught media ethics said he hopes Bezos injects money into the paper so it can hire a more diverse staff to help with coverage of issues including immigration. “What I'm hoping for is that Bezos can infuse some cash into the Post operation, that translates into hiring of a more diverse staff, that would have the perspective that may be left out now as we discuss that issue,” said Howard University Professor Clint Wilson, a former newspaper journalist who is part of a group of researchers at the school backing more reporting on broadcaster ownership (CD July 25 p7). “The Post has had some issues with that, going back 20 or 30 years,” in not having sufficient diversity, he said, citing reporter Janet Cooke who gave back a Pulitzer Prize after the story that won was found to be fabricated.

Leaders of The Newspaper Guild, negotiating a new contract with the paper, “appreciate Bezos’ comments about upholding the journalistic values of the Post, and pledging no immediate changes in management, operations or staff,” said the union that’s part of the Communications Workers of America (http://bit.ly/11KseR3). Howard’s Wilson sees it as “encouraging” if Bezos makes good on comments to “leave the editorial matters to” the editorial department, said the professor. SPJ’s Smith said he’s giving Bezos the benefit of the doubt. Since Bezos has “no track record” in the newspaper industry, “I suspect that he’s being honest when he says the paper isn’t going to change its editorial kind of approach,” said RTDNA’s Cavender. “I don’t think we have any reason to suspect any different until it’s proven differently.” Even if the paper’s editorial board takes a stand on an issue like Internet taxation, that’s no different than a paper like The Wall Street Journal taking editorial positions that comport with owner News Corp.’s business interests, said Cavender.

Bezos may bring added technological sophistication that will benefit The Post, said experts. He may even learn from TV stations, which have retained their core audience better than papers, at giving online visitors different content than what’s available via more traditional modes of delivery, said Cavender. “Station ownership has to really embrace the concept that the website or the mobile device, whatever the digital device is, is not first and foremost a place to promote the television station” but instead a source for content, he said. “Understanding or embracing that” has been a major challenge across all news media “for management to get their arms around,” said Cavender.

Bezos “affords a lot of opportunities for new and perhaps innovative ways to reach audiences,” said Smith, who hopes he brings back the ombudsman position that was discontinued recently under the Grahams’ ownership. An ombudsman doesn’t provide the same feedback that editors already get immediately from readers, said Smith. By reinstating the job, Bezos would say “'here is yet another firewall between my ownership and the content of the paper,'” said Smith, a former SPJ president. There could be “enormous amounts of conflicts of interest” on immigration, online sales tax and other technology reporting, which all depends on Bezos, said Smith. “It could be as easy or as complicated as he makes it,” Smith said of ethics policies. With Bezos “singularly involved in it as the sole owner,” when it comes to implementing ethics policies, “that could be a good thing, or it could be a bad thing,” the professor said: “The public would be best served if he had a very limited” role in “day-to-day operations,” especially editorial ones.