Amazon tycoon and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos has news for his paper's newsroom: "Americans don't trust the media," and it's not the fault of Fox News. "Something we are doing," the billionaire boss insists, "is clearly not working."

Last week, the Washington Post sent Beltway pontificators into a Chernobyl-sized meltdown when the paper declined to officially hail Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris as its choice for commander-in-chief. Two now-former writers for the Post's editorial board stepped down in protest, with one opining that "Donald Trump is not yet a dictator. But the quieter we are, the closer he comes." A former editor-in-chief of the paper suggested that the shock decision to maintain neutrality just days before the big 2024 showdown was not made "for reasons of high principle." National Public Radio reports that readers are reacting with fury as more than 200,000 and counting have canceled their digital subscriptions.

Bezos, however, is adamant that credibility should trump catharsis. In an op-ed for his own paper, the prime mover notes that newspaper endorsements make little impact beyond suggesting partisan bias. With seven out of ten Americans telling Gallup that they have little to zero confidence in the news media, Bezos vows, "I will also not allow this paper to stay on autopilot and fade into irrelevance." In the final days of Election 2024, the Harris team should take notes.