Television writer and producer David Simon offered his sympathies to Washington Post journalists before revealing that he decided to cancel his subscription due to Jeff Bezos' decision to prevent the paper from endorsing Kamala Harris.
The legendary writer known for his work on "The Wire" shared in a post to X that he initially was not planning on canceling his subscription after the news outlet received intense backlash for the development, but Bezos' opinion piece defending the decision made him change his mind.
Just read the insights of Jeff Bezos in his opinion piece in The Post. I wasn't going to join 200,000 others and cancel my subscription because doing so won't hurt Bezos -- he paid more for his yachts than his newspaper -- and, yes, the Post newsroom where good people, and some…
— David Simon (@AoDespair) October 28, 2024
"I wasn't going to join 200,000 others and cancel my subscription because doing so won't hurt Bezos — he paid more for his yachts than his newspaper — and, yes, the Post newsroom where good people, and some friends still labor continues providing meaningful journalism. But, my god, this man's insipid defense of his own transparent cowardice is provoking," Simon wrote in a post on X.
In Bezos' op-ed published on the Post on Monday, the billionaire confirmed he had ordered the paper not to endorse a candidate. He went on to say that he did not want it to endorse anyone because such moves "create a perception of bias," adding that mistrust in the media is higher than ever.
Bezos' decision broke decades of tradition by the Post to endorse a presidential candidate. Simon called the billionaire's decision "abuse" on X.
"I canceled. I wasn't going to do it. I probably shouldn't, and certainly, if this technobrat oligarch ever releases his grip on what needs to be an independent newsroom and editorial board, indifferent to the financial positions of its publisher, then I'll return. But this kind of abuse of a public trust by a publisher is unacceptable," Simon said.
More than 200,000 people have reportedly canceled their Washington Post subscriptions since the announcement. At least two columnists and two writers at the paper also stepped away from their roles, as well as a third of the editorial board as reported by NPR.
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