Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and THE WASHINGTON POST
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-10-24 00:19:35
- Update Date：2025-09-14
- Status：finish
- Author：Martin Baron
- ISBN：1250844207
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Summary
“A closely observed， gripping chronicle of politics and journalism during a decade of turmoil。” — The New York Times Book Review
Politics。 Money。 Media。 Tech。 …It’s all here in Collision of Power。
“ All the President's Men for a new generation。” — Town & Country
Marty Baron took charge of The Washington Post newsroom in 2013， after nearly a dozen years leading The Boston Globe 。 Just seven months into his new job， Baron received explosive Jeff Bezos， the founder of Amazon， would buy the Post ， marking a sudden end to control by the venerated family that had presided over the paper for 80 years。 Just over two years later， Donald Trump won the presidency。
Now， the capital’s newspaper， owned by one of the world’s richest men， was tasked with reporting on a president who had campaigned against the press as the “lowest form of humanity。” Pressures on Baron and his colleagues were immense and unrelenting， having to meet the demands of their new owner while contending with a president who waged a war of unprecedented vitriol and vengeance against the media。
In the face of Trump’s unceasing attacks， Baron steadfastly managed the Post ’s newsroom。 Their groundbreaking and award-winning coverage included stories about Trump’s purported charitable giving， misconduct by the Secret Service， and Roy Moore’s troubling sexual history。 At the same time， Baron managed a restive staff during a period of rapidly changing societal dynamics around gender and race。
In Collision of Power ， Baron recounts this with the tenacity of a reporter and the sure hand of an experienced editor。 The result is elegant and revelatory―an urgent exploration of the nature of power in the 21st century。
Politics。 Money。 Media。 Tech。 …It’s all here in Collision of Power。
“ All the President's Men for a new generation。” — Town & Country
Marty Baron took charge of The Washington Post newsroom in 2013， after nearly a dozen years leading The Boston Globe 。 Just seven months into his new job， Baron received explosive Jeff Bezos， the founder of Amazon， would buy the Post ， marking a sudden end to control by the venerated family that had presided over the paper for 80 years。 Just over two years later， Donald Trump won the presidency。
Now， the capital’s newspaper， owned by one of the world’s richest men， was tasked with reporting on a president who had campaigned against the press as the “lowest form of humanity。” Pressures on Baron and his colleagues were immense and unrelenting， having to meet the demands of their new owner while contending with a president who waged a war of unprecedented vitriol and vengeance against the media。
In the face of Trump’s unceasing attacks， Baron steadfastly managed the Post ’s newsroom。 Their groundbreaking and award-winning coverage included stories about Trump’s purported charitable giving， misconduct by the Secret Service， and Roy Moore’s troubling sexual history。 At the same time， Baron managed a restive staff during a period of rapidly changing societal dynamics around gender and race。
In Collision of Power ， Baron recounts this with the tenacity of a reporter and the sure hand of an experienced editor。 The result is elegant and revelatory―an urgent exploration of the nature of power in the 21st century。
Reviews
Janet Roberts
，
Fantastic book！ It’s a solidly laid out sets of facts that stand as a testament to the importance of maintaining a free press and to also maintaining a free democracy。 Baron is as candid about mistakes as he is about successes， teaching readers how journalism should work for the good of the public。 If you’ve ever said “fake news” stop it - read this book。 Up and coming journalists should read this as well。
Christine
，
This was a very well-written story by a man who was editor of The Washington Post while owner Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump collided before， during and after the Trump presidency。 All the facts are there as well as all the different responses to The Post's stories。 It was not an easy read， but it was an important one。 Mr。 Baron very clearly sets out the details of the interactions between Trump and The Post and lets the reader make what they will of the stories， while making clear where he stands， This was a very well-written story by a man who was editor of The Washington Post while owner Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump collided before， during and after the Trump presidency。 All the facts are there as well as all the different responses to The Post's stories。 It was not an easy read， but it was an important one。 Mr。 Baron very clearly sets out the details of the interactions between Trump and The Post and lets the reader make what they will of the stories， while making clear where he stands， of course。 After all， it's his book！ I couldn't read it quickly--it was very dense with a lot of footnoted information and it took some digesting in between chapters。 I'm glad he wrote this--it's part of the record now and I think will be useful for future scholars who want to hear all the sides to this part of our history。 And， as a previous proofreader， I have to say that it was formatted beautifully and had no typos or misspellings at all， that I could see--something that is more and more rare these days！ 。。。more
Mark Mathes
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Democracy dies in darkness， as told by the editor who led one of the largest newsrooms， The Washington Post， in the last decade during and after the Trump assaults。 Americans and even longtime #newspaper readers do not understand what #editors， #publishers and news organizations do。 There are fewer editors these days who work for an independent owner （Jeff Bezos， whose Amazon owns Goodreads） and we learn how that is a delicate balancing act。 Yes， been there myself in a previous life。 This book h Democracy dies in darkness， as told by the editor who led one of the largest newsrooms， The Washington Post， in the last decade during and after the Trump assaults。 Americans and even longtime #newspaper readers do not understand what #editors， #publishers and news organizations do。 There are fewer editors these days who work for an independent owner （Jeff Bezos， whose Amazon owns Goodreads） and we learn how that is a delicate balancing act。 Yes， been there myself in a previous life。 This book helps explain why American democracy is at risk。 。。。more
Steven Z。
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What do you do when your new boss is the richest man in the world， and he has just purchased your place of employment？ This is the situation that Martin Baron， then the executive editor of the Washington Post found himself seven months into his new position in 2013。 His new boss was Jeff Bezos， the founder of Amazon which created an arrangement conducive to a great deal of pressure， and to exacerbate the situation further， Donald Trump announces for president in 2015 and by 2017 resides in the W What do you do when your new boss is the richest man in the world， and he has just purchased your place of employment？ This is the situation that Martin Baron， then the executive editor of the Washington Post found himself seven months into his new position in 2013。 His new boss was Jeff Bezos， the founder of Amazon which created an arrangement conducive to a great deal of pressure， and to exacerbate the situation further， Donald Trump announces for president in 2015 and by 2017 resides in the White House。 Trump heightens Baron’s angst as he wages a war of unprecedented vitriol and vengeance against Bezos personally and the media， especially the Washington Post。 The period 2013 to 2021 forms the time frame of Baron’s new memoir/history of the period， COLLISION OF POWER: TRUMP， BEZOS， AND THE WASHINGTON POST。Baron’s book is much more than a rehashing of Trump’s war against Bezos and Amazon/Washington Post。 It is a well thought out and incisive examination of a career in newspaper publishing， particularly Baron’s role as executive editor at the newspaper。 Baron who had spent nearly twelve years leading the Boston Globe， recounts how he managed the Post’s newsroom and dealt with issues ranging from domestic surveillance， the #metoo movement， vetting Supreme Court candidates， to the myriad of scandals and crisis’ that surrounded Trump， the individual in addition to his administration， two impeachment trials， an insurrection， navigating internal issues at the newspaper， in addition to the comparisons between the Post and New York Times。It is clear from the outset that the Washington Post was a target of Trump’s。 The newspaper coverage of him personally and his campaign angered him， and he leaned on Jeff Bezos to get Baron’s newsroom to back off with their criticism which would continue after he was elected president。Baron begins his memoir by explaining the background as to how Bezos came to buy the Washington Post。 As the narrative continues it is clear that Baron likes and respects Bezos as he believes in the essential role of journalism in a democracy as the reason he purchased the paper。 Further， Baron argues that Bezos never interfered with the paper’s coverage of Amazon， his affair and divorce， and never used his position to spread his influence。 Bezos relished the challenge of turning the paper around and moving it into the digital age。 Bezos’ greatest concern was whether his strategy of “shifting from relatively few subscribers paying a lot for a subscriptions to lots of subscribers paying fairly little for digital subscriptions – would actually work。” Baron reviews Bezos’ approach to management and the numerous changes he implemented， i。e。; to create a nation/worldwide network of journalists who would be a free-lance force。 For Bezos it would expand the journalistic reach of the paper at “bargain basement prices。”As one reads on， Baron rehashes the nightmare of the Trump presidency， his refusal to accept the fact he lost the 2020 election， and the events surrounding January 6th。 There is little that is new here though the emphasis is on Trump’s obsession with Amazon which he believed manipulated newspaper coverage of him personally。 Since he blamed the Washington Post for unfair criticism he went after the retail behemoth arguing it paid no taxes， it was ripping off the US Postal system， and it engaged in unfair trade practices。 To Baron’s credit when coverage of Trump did not meet the Post’s standards he refused to publish。 A good example is his handling of the Steele Dossier that accused Trump of election cooperation with Russian interference in 2016， sexual proclivities， the attempt to build a Trump Tower in Moscow， and his relationship with Vladimir Putin。 In the end the document developed by a former British spy did not meet the standard the paper relied on for publication。 No matter what the coverage of Trump， Baron points out in his war against the media “any questions that put him on the spot was an offense。”Baron’s chapter dealing with the death of Jamal Khashoggi is important as it highlights Trump and his allies’ war on journalists。 It is clear that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was culpable in his death， and it is interesting how Baron creates links between the Saudi leadership’s approach to critical journalism and that of Trump。 Both men sought to intimidate journalists and make them live in fear。 If one follows Trump’s reaction to the murder it is clear he did not care， and interestingly after his presidency his son-in-law received a $2 billion Saudi investment in his business fund。 Salman would even go after Amazon because of the Post’s coverage of his government and referred to Bezos as “that Jew。”Baron should be praised for his honesty as he navigated his relationship with Bezos and allowed a focus on Amazon’s anti-union labor practices， its marketing strategies that hurt secondary vendors， and most importantly its surveillance policies – Alexa is in your home gathering intelligence against you and your family！ To Bezos’ credit he did not interfere with any of any story that involved his personal life or businesses。 Further， Baron delves into issues dealing with social media， racial practices at the paper， and objectivity that brought him into conflict with younger and black journalists。In the end Baron grew skeptical with the reporter’s combative tweets and their airing of their social views。 A newspaper traditionalist Baron almost resigned amidst the covid crisis， and Black Lives Matter Movement as he felt reporters were putting their own opinions above those of the newspaper。 In summation I agree with Sewell Chan’s conclusion presented in his New York Times review in which he states， “As Baron describes it， the job of an editor today revolves as much around spreadsheets， team building， labor negotiations and social media guidelines as it does around relationships with reporters and supervision of coverage。 That Baron managed that high-wire act so successfully — The Post won 10 Pulitzers on his watch — in an era of wrenching changes in politics and journalism shows that newsroom leadership， however devoid of ease or glamour， remains essential。”**Sewell Chan， “At His Post，” New York Times， October 15， 2023。 。。。more
Eiji T
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A very revealing and compelling behind-the-scenes look at the Washington Post under Jeff Bezos' ownership。 A very revealing and compelling behind-the-scenes look at the Washington Post under Jeff Bezos' ownership。 。。。more
Debra Robert
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This is an important book。 It helps you to understand what is really involved in reporting and how difficult a job it really is。
Dana Stabenow
，
Marty Baron is the Forest Gump of modern day journalism。 He was with the Miami Herald during the 2000 election， with the Boston Globe during 9/11 and spearheaded the Globe's investigation of the Catholic Church's coverup of pedofile priests， a story that inspired coverage of the same story to wherever in the world the Catholic Church had a footprint。 As if that wasn't enough， Baron went on to become the managing editor of the Washington Post five months before it was bought by Jeff Bezos in 2013 Marty Baron is the Forest Gump of modern day journalism。 He was with the Miami Herald during the 2000 election， with the Boston Globe during 9/11 and spearheaded the Globe's investigation of the Catholic Church's coverup of pedofile priests， a story that inspired coverage of the same story to wherever in the world the Catholic Church had a footprint。 As if that wasn't enough， Baron went on to become the managing editor of the Washington Post five months before it was bought by Jeff Bezos in 2013， the same year Edward Snowdon leaked a massive document dump proving that the security agencies of the US government were secretly spying on their own citizens， three years before the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States， and seven years before Trump lost reelection and fomented the insurrection following that loss。None of this is helped by the paper's own institutional inertia。Newsrooms routinely suffer from a stong gravitational pull back toward what used to be at the expense of what needs to be。Nor is the fact that the Post is just about dead broke， and their coverage is suffering because they keep having to lay off reporters and editors。Bezos comes off very well in Baron's account。 At one of their first meetings the Post's leaders are determined the new owner doesn't come in blind to the situation and tells him exactly how bad things are financially。We all wondered whether Bezos grasped just how bad things were。 As we sat in silence， he studied the memo's six pages， then rose without a word to leave our table。 "are you coming back？" Steve cracked。 No response。 Bezos picked up a beverage， returned， sat down， paused as if for dramatic effect， and looked directly at Steve。 "I don't scare that easily，" he said。 "You're right， we need to grow。 So how are we going to do that？"According to Baron， and if I were going to believe anyone in this account of events it would be Marty Baron， Bezos never wavered in his support for the Post， and never interfered or tried to interfere with the Post's coverage of the news， including of Amazon and later of Bezos' affair and divorce。 He pushed for the Post to broaden its scope from covering only Washington， D。C。 to covering the nation and the world， and he insisted it figure out how to pay for itself。 That was it。 In the beginning Trump tried to curry favor with Bezos， wanting him to steer the Post's coverage away from Trump's manifest unfitness for the job and his utter inability to tell the truth。 This began with a dinner including Baron and Bezos at the White House in June， 2017， the news of which Baron， in true reporter-scooping fashion， breaks for the first time in the prologue of this book。 He writesTrump would pass the evening with us--crowing about his election victory， mocking his rivals and even some of his own orbit， boasting already of imagined accomplishments， calculating how he could win yet again in four years， and describing The Washington Post as the worst of all media outlets。。。Two things stayed with me from that dinner。 First， Trump would govern orimarily to retain the support of his base。。。Second， his list of grievances appeared limitless。When he failed to bully Bezos into better coverage， Trump lit up Bezos and Amazon and the Post like a pinball machine， beginning with constant， increasingly vitriolic， purposefully incendiary， and invariably untrue insults on Twitter and at rallies and in the White House press room， and， when this didn't work， escalating into government attacks on Amazon itself。Nor were Post employees immune。 Trump and his allies reviled and harrassed and doxxed not just The Post's reporters but anyone reporting unfavorably on Trump， and they were physically attacked and their equipment destroyed by the insurrectionists on January 6th。The GOP effort。。。was designed with malicious intent。 Some reporters' photos were posted by Trump allies merely to show they were being watched， as happend to the Post's Josh Dawsey， when a photograph of him sitting at a bar was posted to Twitter。 It was an act of intimidation。 "They wanted all the reporters covering him to live in fear，" Josh told me。The chapter on the assassination of Post correspondent Jamal Khashoggi on the orders of the Saudi crown prince is a horrifying read。 Baron writes。。。Trump， of course， wasn't directly responsible for Khashoggi's killing。 But he was responsible for emboldening autocrats who intended to extinguish their press critics one way or another。 In this instance， the chosen method was a bone saw。 Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ample reasons to anticiapte impunity from Trump， and he got exactly that。Throughout the narrative， Baron reiterates his feelings about what makes a professional journalist and that never changes。 In his epilogue he leaves a blueprint that's a case study for any "Journalism 201" class as well as any newsroom on the planet。This is what [genuine objectivity] really means: As journalists we can never stop obsessing over how to get at the truth--Doing that requires an open mind and rigorous method。 We must be more impressed with what we don't know than with what we know or think we know。 We should not start our work by imagining we have the answers; we need to seek them out。。。If we hope to effectively hold the powerful to account， we will have to show that we are objective in how we go about our work。I think it's safe to say that Baron oversaw one of our most important media outlets during the most fraught time in our history absent the four years of the Civil War， and that he did it at least attempting to hold true to that maxim of genuine objectivity。 He retired the month after January 6， 2021， and no wonder。 That is where the book ends， but when it does you are in no doubt of his conclusion， that a free press is essential to a free society。 He doesn't say it but I will: It has never been more essential that it is right now。 。。。more
Dennis Hogan
，
Just finished Collision of Power: Trump， Bezos， and the Washington Post by Martin Baron， an important new book just released on October 3， 2023。 Baron is the retired executive editor of The Washington Post and before that he held the same position with the Miami Herald and The Boston Globe。 He was executive editor of The Boston Globe during the Globe’s coverage of the Boston Catholic Diocese sexual abuse scandal which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003。 Baron capably describes the transition of the Just finished Collision of Power: Trump， Bezos， and the Washington Post by Martin Baron， an important new book just released on October 3， 2023。 Baron is the retired executive editor of The Washington Post and before that he held the same position with the Miami Herald and The Boston Globe。 He was executive editor of The Boston Globe during the Globe’s coverage of the Boston Catholic Diocese sexual abuse scandal which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003。 Baron capably describes the transition of the legacy newspaper industry to the new digital age。 The book opens with a dinner that Baron and Jeff Bezos the owner of The Washington Post shared with Donald Trump and several of his staff at the beginning of his presidency， foreshadowing the monumental issues to come。 I was most moved by Baron’s description of the The Washington Post challenges to be economically viable while navigating the increasing pressure on journalistic integrity from within and without。 A lot of news happened during his time at the Post from 2012-2021。 A great ride and a great book！ 。。。more
Jack
，
I found this book pretty riveting。 One of the best books I've read all year。 I will definitely recommend it， particularly for Baron's take on the role of the press in combating misinformation and propaganda。 One way to describe Collision of Power is the Post's tagline: democracy dies in darkness。 This book is about shedding the light on the darker corners。 And I feel it does so very powerfully。 I couldn't put it down。 It's gripping， it covers from a first-hand perspective the inside story of som I found this book pretty riveting。 One of the best books I've read all year。 I will definitely recommend it， particularly for Baron's take on the role of the press in combating misinformation and propaganda。 One way to describe Collision of Power is the Post's tagline: democracy dies in darkness。 This book is about shedding the light on the darker corners。 And I feel it does so very powerfully。 I couldn't put it down。 It's gripping， it covers from a first-hand perspective the inside story of some of the biggest stories of the last 10 years。 Particularly interesting is the rise of Trump。 I would say that conversative readers may find this a tough read。 I found Baron very even-handed but he's also speaking quite a bit about Trump and it is from the Washington Post's perspective。 The book doesn't really pull any punches and is self-reflective and self-critical。 。。。more
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collision of power trump bezos and the washington post