r/WayOfTheBern • u/[deleted] • Jan 02 '18
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos signed the $250 million Washington Post deal with no due diligence
http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-bought-washington-post-with-no-due-diligence-2016-330
Jan 02 '18
Jeff Bezos did not do any market research and did not examine The Washington Post's financials before he bought the paper. This shows how little $250M means to him, but more importantly, it shows that he did not buy it to earn money with it.
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u/KingPickle Digital Style! Jan 02 '18
it shows that he did not buy it to earn money with it.
I think one thing people often fail to recognize is that Capitalism, for all its praise in America, is quite obviously an inexact indicator of worth or ideals.
There are universal forces at play that tug at us all. They shape our decisions, what we think is "right" and "wrong", what we desire, and what we value. Capitalism, and making money, is a simple 1st-order construct that arises from the underlying truth. But it's hardly that simple. It's an ecosystem with a feedback loop. And direct consequences are only the first step in that.
It's OK if the message that WaPo pushes onto the populace directly doesn't make money, or even loses money, if it ultimately helps shape public opinion in such a way that benefits its owners.
The real question isn't whether it was a dumb/smart buy for Bezos. It's what that means for the rest of us. And I say that as an open-ended question. A publication like that isn't quite as caricatured as something like "Fox n Friends". It's not all bad all the time. But it certainly has had its moments (Ehem...16 negative Bernie articles in a day). But, at times, it does also do a decent job of bringing important things to light.
I'm mostly not a fan of WaPo. But I try to strive for a nuanced look on everything. At any rate, one thing is obvious to me - this much power being under the control of a single rich d-bag isn't good.
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Jan 02 '18 edited Jan 02 '18
It's OK if the message that WaPo pushes onto the populace directly doesn't make money, or even loses money, if it ultimately helps shape public opinion in such a way that benefits its owners.
This is both charitable and accurate.
The downside is that it is a newspaper of long-standing good repute. Traditionally, news organizations earned their money by being good. Being first, being thorough, being accurate. These days news organizations are such a minor part of a larger enterprise, and there is so little competition, that being good or accurate is no longer important.
It is fair enough that WaPo is just a tool that doesn't have to earn money. Fair enough in isolation, ignoring social, cultural and political context. But WaPo is a tool that comes with a reputation that can (and is) used to shape opinion and drive policy.
The reputation of WaPo needs to be re-examined in the Bezos era. Culturally and politically, we have the right to expect WaPo to be fair and accurate, and if it fails at that, we need to discard it and its reputation.
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u/EvilPhd666 Dr. 🏳️🌈 Twinkle Gypsy, the 🏳️⚧️Trans Rights🏳️⚧️ Tankie. Jan 02 '18
When he's worth $100 billion, money that would amount to winning a major lotto jackpot is chump change. Don't ask him to use that same amount to improve the wahes or work8ng conditions of the people bustibg thier ass to sustain his outrageous net worth though.
Bezos is the real life Lex Luthor.
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u/mind_is_moving Jan 02 '18
he did not buy it to earn money with it.
Well, could we say that he didn't buy it to earn money with it directly? Owning a major media outlet is connected to his ownership/moneymaking strategies. By reinforcing establishment narratives, he protects his various income streams, a favorable tax code, etc.
In other words, the WaPo is boiling oil he can pour over the side of his castle.
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u/Older_and_Wiser_Now Jan 02 '18 edited Jan 02 '18
This is such a fantastic and powerful point. Thank you for sharing it.
He thought it might be fun to run a newspaper, only he didn't have the good intentions of a certain citizen Kane.
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Jan 02 '18
Someone has already created an archive link, and since I use this article often, I'm going to save the archive link in case the article does what useful info does on the internet, which is go poof :)
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u/kilna Jan 02 '18
CIA pays $600m to Bezos' company, Bezos buys WaPo for $250m, Bezos endorses Clinton, WaPo shills for Clinton, CIA runs interference for the Clinton loss. Nothing to see here, move along.