Jonathan Capehart quits WaPo editorial board, leaving no people of color

[brooklynite]

Source: Washington Post

Jonathan Capehart quit the Washington Post editorial board after a dispute over an editorial about 2024 politics, leaving the paper with an all-white editorial board, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Capehart left the board at a time when the Post — based in a city where nearly half the population is Black — is swirling in internal discontent over the paper's leadership.

By comparison, the New York Times editorial board has three people of color.

State of play: Since joining the Post as a member of its editorial board in 2007, Capehart has become one of the paper's most visible and influential faces.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2023/02/28/washington-post-editorial-board-people-of-color

[Lonestarblue]

1. I have been a Post subscriber for years, and noticed a definite shift to the right under Buzbee's

leadership. The shift is often more noticeable in headlines that do not match an article. One I remember from last year related to the monthly job growth. The headline writer inserted the word “only” which indicated that the number had fallen short of the expectations. In fact, the number was above expectations. And during the Afghanistan withdrawal, the Post absolutely excoriated President Biden daily, not just in opinion pieces but in articles that were more opinion than news.

While the Post does have a stable of progressive opinion writers, they also have a number of opinion writers who do not argue conservative values but who write only to convince readers that Republican lies are in fact the truth. Their latest hire came from Rupert Murdoch’s WSJ opinion pages.

Not having Capehart on the editorial board is a loss for the paper.

[marybourg]

4. All true.

[True Blue American]

5. Just like CNN

Is shifting hard right with Chris light. He is lying to the Hill.

https://thehill.com/homenews/3746452-new-cnn-boss-licht-idea-i-want-network-to-be-centrist-is-bulls-t/#:~:text=Chris%20Licht%2C%20CNN's%20newly%20minted,more%20centrist%20in%20its%20reporting.

[EmmaLee E]

6. + 1

[Mickju]

13. I cancelled my subscription a few weeks ago.

I had noticed a shift to the right in recent months and will not tolerate it. I've been a subscriber for years.

[lostnfound]

21. Add me to the list, I've noticed it too nt

[hlthe2b]

2. Okay, I went back and read that editorial. Does anyone know what Capehart's issue was with it?

I'm not "getting" it. While it credits African Americans in GA with not being manipulated by Trump's attempts to exploit their vote with Herschel Walker, something I could see being considered rather condescending-- but I still am not seeing why that particular piece would have caused Capehart's departure. Perhaps it was the internal conversations about it, pre-release?

[dsc]

3. same here

the only part I could see a problem with was the line about the voting law.

[AngryOldDem]

8. Editorial discussion/decision, I would guess.

Speaking as someone who worked as a copy editor on the editorial page of a midsize-city daily for several years.

Capehart may have wanted to take the piece further than where the editor wanted it to go, or the editor made changes that Capehart didn’t agree with. It could have been, too, earlier disagreements with the editor that just reached a head with this particular piece.

[live love laugh]

11. Pretty sure more than a single issue led to the departure.

[Fiendish Thingy]

7. Still a better paper than NYT. Nt

[hlthe2b]

9. I agree. Surprisingly, owner, Jeff Bezos has left them alone from all accounts.

[calimary]

10. Sorry to see this.

Even more sorry to read about the shift to the right. EXTREMELY disappointing.

[Evolve Dammit]

16. yeah. extremely. Capehart seems like the most stand-up guy I've ever watched. Not good for WaPo.

[dlk]

12. Sorry to see Capehart go

This was probably the last straw after other events. The mainstream media’s movement to the right seems to be ill-advised, especially given the leftward shift in the culture, and will probably not serve them well in the long run

[rubbersole]

14. Chasing profit over truth isn't a good business model as it turns out.

faux 'news' led in eyeballs and clicks ($) so naturally that's what investors thought was the best way to go. People don't use traditional information sources very much anymore.

[dlk]

20. There is a lot of misinformation passing as news

Critical thinking skills are more important than ever.

[flashman13]

15. I read through the editorial that apparently created an issue. It seemed fairly innocuous to me.

I saw only two points that might have caused push back that would have prompted Mr. Capehart to resign.

Capehart said that, "despite hyperbolic warnings by President Biden and other Democrats that updated voting rules amounted to Jim Crow 2.0", which could be interpreted as a mild rebuke to Biden. It seems a very mild rebuke at worst.

He also discussed a DNC proposal to make Georgia an early primary state because it was more representative of the nation than Iowa. Could Iowans have complained that their feelings were hurt? He further said, "This is why WE applaud the Democratic National Committee’s move last week to make Georgia an early primary state", referring to the more representative idea. Did Capehart simply use the royal WE, but the Editorial Board took him to task because the WE could have been interpreted that the Editorial Board had "applauded" and not just him. Possibly the EB didn't agree or actually felt the change of dates was a bad idea. I find it difficult to tell from the context of that word construction what he meant.

Both of these two issues I would consider far too trivial to cause a rift between Capehart and the Post sufficient to prompt resignation. Maybe there is something here I am really missing. Maybe I am just so liberal I missed some other obvious misstep Mr. Capehart made.

[ZonkerHarris]

17. cancelled by wapo sub last year. They have been drifting right wing for a few years now

[ificandream]

18. They're still showing him doing the "First Look" podcast on the Post website.

So I'm not sure that Axios report is entirely accurate.

Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2023/03/03/first-look-with-posts-jonathan-capehart/

[elleng]

19. Hope he remains on Friday's PBS NewsHour discussion,

usually with David Brooks.