By DYLAN BYERS | 5/14/14 - Politico
The Washington Post is drawing attention from media critics who question whether the paper's new owner Jeff Bezos is influencing coverage of his company Amazon.
Nearly one week after The New York Times reported on a bitter dispute between Amazon and the book publisher Hachette, the Post has yet to cover the story. Amazon has been discouraging customers from buying Hachette books by delaying deliveries, according to the report.
The absence of any Amazon-Hachette mention in the Post has been flagged by media critics Jack Shafer and Jim Romenesko, and criticized by the publisher Melville House. In a blog post, Melville House listed 20 things the Post has covered instead of the dispute, from Punk rock priests to Google doodles.
No one has criticized the Post of foul play -- "I believe the omission is an innocent one," Melville's Alex Shephard writes -- but they have noted that the Post covered Amazon’s 2010 dispute with Macmillan "at length."
Post executive editor Martin Baron assured POLITICO that the lack of coverage was simply a matter of resources and editorial judgment.
"The story was reported in the New York Times on Saturday. With a staff nearly twice our size, the Times has full-time coverage of the book industry, which is based in New York. We do not," he wrote in an email. "Having now become aware of the subject, we’re looking into it. We don’t discuss what we might publish or when. But, as always, coverage decisions are based on available resources and our own independent editorial judgment."
Baron also confirmed that Bezos has no influence on coverage decisions at the Post.
And over at Forbes magazine - Inside Amazon's Battle With Hachette
Others:
Teleread
washingtonpost.com (!)
Nearly one week after The New York Times reported on a bitter dispute between Amazon and the book publisher Hachette, the Post has yet to cover the story. Amazon has been discouraging customers from buying Hachette books by delaying deliveries, according to the report.
The absence of any Amazon-Hachette mention in the Post has been flagged by media critics Jack Shafer and Jim Romenesko, and criticized by the publisher Melville House. In a blog post, Melville House listed 20 things the Post has covered instead of the dispute, from Punk rock priests to Google doodles.
No one has criticized the Post of foul play -- "I believe the omission is an innocent one," Melville's Alex Shephard writes -- but they have noted that the Post covered Amazon’s 2010 dispute with Macmillan "at length."
Post executive editor Martin Baron assured POLITICO that the lack of coverage was simply a matter of resources and editorial judgment.
"The story was reported in the New York Times on Saturday. With a staff nearly twice our size, the Times has full-time coverage of the book industry, which is based in New York. We do not," he wrote in an email. "Having now become aware of the subject, we’re looking into it. We don’t discuss what we might publish or when. But, as always, coverage decisions are based on available resources and our own independent editorial judgment."
Baron also confirmed that Bezos has no influence on coverage decisions at the Post.
And over at Forbes magazine - Inside Amazon's Battle With Hachette
Others:
Teleread
washingtonpost.com (!)
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