Who is David Shipley? The Washington Post opinion editor reportedly resigning over Jeff Bezos new directive

David Shipley, who has served as editor for the editorial page of The Washington Post, has announced his departure after witnessing a sudden change and shift in the newspaper’s opinion section which was carried out under the direction of its owner, Jeff Bezos.

According to the Carnegie Council, David Shipley is an experienced journalist with an impressive background that includes work for several top-tier publications. Before coming to The Washington Post, he was the senior executive editor of Bloomberg View and Bloomberg Gadfly.

His previous positions included deputy editorial page editor and op-ed page editor at The New York Times, and executive editor at The New Republic.

Shipley also has some government experience, serving in the Clinton administration as a special assistant to the president and senior presidential speechwriter. In response to David Shipley stepping down from his role Jeff Bezos wrote on X saying:

“I suggested to him that if the answer wasn’t ‘hell yes,’ then it had to be ‘no.’ After careful consideration, David decided to step away. This is a significant shift, it won’t be easy, and it will require 100% commitment — I respect his decision.”

According to CNN, in an internal email to The Washington Post’s editorial staff members, Shipley said he decided after deep self-reflection about his career path. During his tenure, The Post’s opinion section won two Pulitzer Prizes and two Loeb Awards.

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More about Jeff Bezos’ directive and its impact on The Washington Post

Bezos, who bought The Washington Post in 2013, announced a sudden change in the publication’s opinion section, guiding it by two editorial pillars: free market and personal liberty. According to CNN, it effectively limits opposing viewpoints.

Shipley’s departure comes amid a series of high-profile editorial decisions under Jeff Bezos’ ownership that have come under scrutiny. The Post recently even blocked an endorsement of former Vice President Kamala Harris to break a decades-long practice.

This decision, which was allegedly pushed by Bezos, backfired with almost 250,000 subscribers canceling their subscriptions.

Some journalists worry that Bezos’ intervention reflects a move toward editorial control that could negatively impact the publication’s credibility. Jeff Stein, the paper’s chief economics reporter, denounced the move as a “massive encroachment” on editorial independence.

At the same time, Cameron Barr, the former senior managing editor for The Post, said he would no longer work professionally with the newspaper, and a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor, David Maraniss, said he refuses to write again for The Washington Post as long as Bezos is its owner.