Pulitzer Prize-winning opinion columnist Eugene Robinson resigned from The Washington Post on April 4 in response to the paper’s billionaire owner announcing plans to shift the section’s focus to “free markets and personal liberties.”
Robinson expressed his continued support for the Post but cited Jeff Bezos’ overhaul of the opinion section as the catalyst for his decision, writing that it “spurred me to decide that it’s time for my next chapter.”
“I wanted to let you know that I’ve decided to leave The Post,” Robinson wrote to his colleagues in an email, as cited by The New York Times. “The announced ‘significant shift’ in our section’s mission has spurred me to decide that it’s time for my next chapter.”
A spokesperson for the Washington Post referred to Robinson’s departure as a “retirement” following his 40-plus years at the newspaper, which began in 1980 before he moved to the opinion section in 2005. His columns on the 2008 presidential campaign, which highlighted the election of the first African American president, earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2009.
“For 45 years, his reporting and commentary spanned continents and beats, earning countless recognitions, including a Pulitzer Prize,“ the spokesperson said. ”Eugene’s strong perspective and impeccable integrity have regularly shaped our public discourse, cementing his legacy as a leading voice in American journalism.”
Robinson’s departure follows his appearance on MSNBC in February, where he criticized Bezos for signaling the paper’s shift to the right, stating that such a move would lead to his exit.
“For many of us, this is, to quote Elon Musk, a ‘fork-in-the-road moment’ because these kinds of structures—whatever they turn out to be—are not what we thought we had signed up for,“ Robinson said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “This is not the way we have worked to produce what is, I believe, objectively the best opinion section in American journalism.”
Robinson has since confirmed that he is retiring from The Post, but not from journalism, and has yet to decide about his next move.
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