Jeff Bezos May Sell Washington Post, Buy Commanders
Is Jeff Bezos more passionate about football than he is about newspapers? That’s a question getting tossed around the nation’s capital as its NFL franchise hits the block.
Chatter is growing that Amazon’s billionaire founder is looking to clear the way for a purchase of the Washington Commanders by selling the Washington Post — with speculation boosted last month by leaked video of publisher Fred Ryan disclosing layoff plans Unruly town hall meeting
The problem for Bezos reportedly is that the Commanders’ embattled owner, Dan Snyder, is still sore over the storied newspaper’s series of exposes alleging a toxic management culture at the team, where bosses including Snyder allegedly enabled sex harassment.
Some believe Snyder even suspects Bezos. bought the Washington Post in 2013 for $250 millionIn an effort to sell him the team, he encouraged him to cover the 2020 games with a lot of toughness.
Last week, Bezos stoked fears about looming layoffs During an awkward visit to Washington Post’s newsroom, at the Washington Post. A source close to the situation said Bezos told the paper’s senior staff in private meetings that he had no plans to sell the paper.
However, one suitor is convinced that the Washington Post might be up for sale. This was confirmed by a source who has direct knowledge of the matter, but declined to identify the suitor. Another source, who sells and buys newspapers, said that he had heard of the paper being up for sale.
“I think Bezos’ people could go to Dan and say as a gesture of goodwill, ‘We are selling the paper,’” A source close to the situation stated. “I think that would go a long way with Dan.”
Front Office Sports reported that Snyder had hired Bank of America to auction the Commanders. “continues to court Bezos — even if there are indications that Snyder doesn’t want to sell” To the Amazon founder.
The source said that Bezos hasn’t hired an investment banker for the Washington Post sale and has not made it clear that it is being sold. The source said neither he nor the source are close to Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, who according to an Axios report on Dec. 23, is interested in purchasing either the Wall Street Journal, or Washington Post.
Bezos spokesperson said that the Washington Post was not up for sale. A spokesperson for the Journal — the owner of which, News Corp., also owns the New York Post — said the paper is not for sale.
Last week, reports surfaced that the Commanders have taken first-round bids from prospective acquirers and that Bezos — who reportedly has been in talks with Jay-Z to team up for a buyout — wasn’t among them.
Bezos has been very quiet about the Commanders topic, except for a CNN interview in November where he said that football is his favorite sport. “favorite sport” Lauren Sanchez, Lauren Sanchez’s girlfriend, also chimed in. “I do like football — I’m just going to throw that out there.”
Sports journalists, meanwhile, have been happy to weigh in on behalf of Dan Snyder — whose disposition toward Bezos is decidedly less enthusiastic, according to reports.
“Not only was I told Bezos didn’t submit a bid, I’ve had people tell me the Snyder family has absolutely no interest in selling to Bezos,” JP Finlay, who is the Commanders reporter for NBC Sports, sent a tweet last weekend. That was in response to reports that the highest first-round bid came in at $6.3 billion — short of the $7 billion-plus that Snyder reportedly is seeking.
This was also done after an unnamed source told NBC Sports’ Peter King November “It’ll never happen. Dan Snyder detests the Washington Post. No way he’d sell to the owner of that paper.”
Dan Froomkin, editor of the nonprofit Press Watch, notes that the Amazon tycoon — currently the world’s fourth-richest person with a net worth of $120 billion, according to Forbes — has been known for libertarian-leaning political views that have long been an awkward fit for the Washington Post.
“I can easily imagine better owners for the Washington Post than Jeff Bezos,” Froomkin stated.
2018 was a year of a Washington Post op-ed raised eyebrows It was criticized “corporate welfare tax” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), introduced the legislation, which was nicknamed “The Bernie Sanders Act”. “Stop BEZOS Act.” The article was tweeted by Bezos. Last May, Bezos sparred on Twitter with President Biden over taxes, demanding a government fact-check on the president’s assertions that low corporate taxes were stoking inflation.
Froomkin maintained, “I can even more easily imagine worse owners for the Post, and that would be a national and journalistic tragedy, as well as a complete betrayal of the assurances Bezos made to Don Graham when he bought the Post in 2013 that he would do what’s good for the Post.”
Bezos for his part has made it clear that he didn’t dream of owning a newspaper. Donald Graham, an ex-owner of the Post, requested that Bezos purchase it in 2013. This was to increase online growth and financial stability. The paper grew rapidly under Bezos’ leadership, with more coverage and staff, but it was on track to lose money by 2022, after years of profit as the Trump administration ended.
“I know that when I’m 90, it’s going to be one of the things I’m most proud of, that I took on the Washington Post and helped it through a very rough transition,” In the 2021 book, Bezos stated these words “Invent and Wander,” A collection of his writings.
Now, Bezos’ attachment to the paper may be weaker than ever, said Edward Wasserman, a journalism professor at UC Berkeley who notes that Bezos’ summer Twitter spat with Biden drew critical coverage at the time.
“Bezos has become belatedly aware of the obligations of owning the Washington Post — if he didn’t realize it would muzzle him, he realizes it now,” Wasserman. “It would make sense for him to get out of it.”
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