Washington Put up columnist Eugene Robinson is leaving the newspaper, the second such veteran to exit within the wake of proprietor Jeff Bezos’ directive that the Put up slender the subjects coated by its opinion part to private liberties and the free market.
Robinson, 71, has labored on the Put up since 1980 and been a columnist since 2005, profitable a Pulitzer Prize for his work targeted on the election of Barack Obama because the nation’s first Black president in 2008.
In a memo to colleagues reported by The New York Instances on Thursday, Robinson mentioned the “significant shift” within the opinion part’s mission had inspired him that it was time to maneuver on.
Final month, columnist Ruth Marcus, who had labored on the newspaper since 1984, resigned after she mentioned administration determined to not run her commentary important of Bezos’ coverage. Because the Put up has confronted turmoil prior to now 12 months, it has enforced a coverage of not letting its workers members write about inner issues.
The newspaper’s opinion editor, David Shipley, additionally resigned due to the shift in focus.
In a message on X Thursday, Robinson mentioned that he was “retiring from my longtime journalistic home but not from journalism” and would maintain followers knowledgeable of his subsequent transfer. Robinson seems frequently as a commentator on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
He started his journalism profession on the San Francisco Chronicle within the Nineteen Seventies, and labored a sequence of jobs on the Put up. He coated metropolis corridor in Washington, was a correspondent in London and South America, and was metropolis editor, overseas editor and assistant managing editor.
In a press release, the Washington Put up provided congratulations to the “beloved” Robinson upon his retirement.
“Eugene’s strong perspective and impeccable integrity have regularly shaped our public discourse, cementing his legacy as a leading voice in American journalism,” the Put up mentioned.
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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Comply with him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social
