Marc Fisher on Journalism’s Stakes in a Bezos-Era Washington Post

On March 19th, Marc Fisher — Princeton alumnus and senior editor at The Washington Post — spoke to aspiring student journalists, pulling back the curtain on storytelling craft and the corporate pressures reshaping American journalism from the inside out. From his time at Princeton co-founding The Nassau Weekly, writing for the Miami Herald, and eventually The Post, Fisher has navigated an esteemed career path. Most notably, Fisher has covered watershed moments from the Berlin Wall's collapse to Donald Trump's political ascent.

In a media economy dominated by click metrics, consolidation, and billionaire ownership, Fisher’s reflections arrive at a moment of existential unease for legacy institutions like The Post. While Fisher champions depth in human-driven reporting — “Every story should be about the meaning of life,” he emphasized—he spoke candidly about the contradictions under Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' ownership.

“We're now at a place where the owner of the paper is setting editorial lines without explanation," Fisher warned. "We lost 200,000 out of 3 million subscribers after he killed an [editorial decision].”

Fisher's journalistic philosophy centers on thorough fieldwork and embracing complexity — reporting that reveals how "things that seem black and white almost always turn out to be gray." This approach earned him acclaim for his biographical investigations into Donald Trump and sexual abuse at Horace Mann. Yet such traditional methods increasingly compete with tech-driven efficiencies reshaping modern newsrooms.

The Bezos era initially brought unprecedented growth, with The Post tripling digital subscribers in two years. Recent leadership changes, however, have undermined staff morale. “The new publisher is under investigation in the U.K. hacking scandal,” Fisher noted. “We've had excellent people leaving, some under pressure, some voluntarily. And everyone's waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

The tension between editorial independence and corporate control dominated Fisher's talk. He acknowledged that Bezos was initially a "dream owner" — maintaining distance from news content while investing in innovation. That relationship has deteriorated.

“This fall, Bezos killed an editorial at the last minute and declared we no longer endorse presidential candidates — without consulting the editorial board,” Fisher explained. “He later said we're shifting to support free markets and personal liberty. But what does that mean? No one knows. That kind of vagueness is dangerous.”

The repercussions were immediate. Ruth Marcus, a respected columnist, resigned after her Bezos-critical column was rejected. Other columns were withdrawn without explanation. “The only guidance we have now,” Fisher said, “is that we can write about anything — as long as it's not about the owner.”

Despite the challenges, Fisher remains at The Post for now. “No one's ever told me not to write something,” he said. “But if they did—if they interfere with the newsroom—I’d walk.”

He’s in a unique position to do so, working on a post-buyout contract. But for younger staff with families, he acknowledged, “it’s not so easy to leave.” That generational divide underscores the stakes for journalism as both a public good and a workplace in flux.

As he told the room, the business of journalism may change, but its mission doesn’t: “People are desperate to tell you who they are. You just have to listen—and you have to show up.”