David Simon, television writer and former Baltimore Sun reporter, announced he canceled his subscription to The Washington Post on Monday—only after billionaire publisher Jeff Bezos penned a column defending the paper’s controversial decision to nix their presidential endorsement. Simon, best known for creating HBO’s The Wire, laid the blame on Bezos, accusing him of “abuse of a public trust” and labeling him a “technobrat oligarch.” Bezos and The Post have faced harsh criticism from staff members, former editors, and readers—and roughly 8% of the paper’s subscriber base canceled their subscriptions during the fallout. “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,” Simon wrote in a post on X. “But, my god, this man’s insipid defense of his own transparent cowardice is provoking.” He added: “I cancelled. 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.”
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…
