The Post’s Opinion Divide
On Monday, as The Washington Post celebrated its two Pulitzer Prize wins, the newspaper found itself scrambling to bring back two previously laid-off video operators to help livestream the celebration because, after the company’s massive layoffs in February, no one remained who could operate the system.
Back inside the paper’s K Street headquarters, the former employees encountered a number of changes that stood in stark contrast to their hollowed-out team: a newly renovated opinion studio outfitted with fresh couches, extensive new video equipment, a bar setup, and the kind of natural wood-paneled backdrop increasingly favored by podcasters and creators. Behind the couch sat a small framed American flag print and a larger image of a cowboy on horseback, reflecting the Americana-coded aesthetic that several staffers told Status they viewed as emblematic of the section’s abrupt right-ward shift under opinion editor Adam O’Neal.
The studio renovation reflects a much broader effort by O’Neal and owner Jeff Bezos to remake The Post’s opinion offerings into a more personality-driven and video-focused operation, one increasingly geared toward commentary that Bezos has described as centering on the twin issues of “personal liberties and free markets.” The transformation is unfolding after Donald Trump’s return to power and Bezos works to repair his strained relationship with the transactional president, a dynamic that has heightened anxiety inside the Matt Murray-led newsroom over the paper’s direction. O’Neal has dutifully carried out that vision, pushing aggressively into video, podcasts, and newsletters, while steering the section toward a more contrarian and conservative-friendly identity.
One current staffer questioned why O’Neal and the opinion section would need a makeshift version of Joe Rogan’s podcasting set. “It’s what the owner wants, I guess,” they sighed.
The investment in a new studio space for the opinion section’s “Make It Make Sense” podcast, hosted by O’Neal and other members of The Post Editorial Board, has raised eyebrows internally about Bezos’ priorities at the storied Washington newspaper of record after layoffs decimated the newsroom. The video gear alone cost the paper $80,000, according to a person familiar with the matter, although the official line is that the set was built in a cost-effective manner, with the opinion budget having already been cut by more than half.
But with only three people remaining on the video team, down from 60 staffers two years ago, some inside the paper are questioning how the efforts to embrace video will function logistically. One former staffer called the investments “haphazard,” telling Status, “No one is even there anymore to make sure things run properly.”
So far, the investment has produced an astonishingly small audience: just 182 YouTube subscribers, with many videos attracting only a few dozen views.
“It does feel like this is just for an audience of one,” one former staffer told Status, alluding to Bezos. “That audience of one is happy to put down money for a studio and programming that doesn’t serve any of the existing audience.” And while O’Neal has discussed making the paper’s editorials more appealing across the ideological spectrum, the former Postie added that the content being produced “isn’t something people on the right want either.”
Coming up on a year into O’Neal’s tenure atop the opinion section, he has earned little goodwill among many staffers, several of whom were eager to stress the divide between the newspaper’s opinion operation and the rest of the newsroom. The tension dates back to the upheaval that followed Bezos’ decision to block the editorial board’s 2024 Kamala Harris endorsement. The subsequent directive by the Amazon billionaire to reorient the section around his libertarian priorities just as Trump took office triggered resignations, subscriber backlash, and growing concerns inside the newsroom over the owner’s editorial influence.
“I try to avoid reading what the opinions section publishes,” one current staffer told Status. “I can’t tell if some of these arguments are being made in good faith or not. Sometimes it just seems like rage bait,” they said, citing a recent opinion video covering how Washington taxpayers are increasingly subsidizing those who take public transportation. “It’s reductive to blame all of The Post’s problems on the opinions section,” the staffer noted, but added that so far, “Adam is not helping the cause.”
The newsroom has also taken notice of the opinion section’s outsized interest in Zohran Mamdani, having published more than 10 op-eds targeting the Democratic Socialist mayor just this year alone. “There’s this bizarre obsession with Mamdani,” one staffer said, pointing out that the coverage has raised eyebrows internally, given that The Post has no real reason to monitor every beat of New York politics. “We’re not even local,” the person added.
A spokesperson for The Post noted that the opinion section saw a six-month high in page views in January, and that the paper has seen an uptick in reader engagement with new subscribers. And while the progress might appear limited, unsigned editorial pieces have become a core product of the section, growing from 6% to 25% year-over-year of the page views section-wide, they said.
Still, some inside The Post question whether the effort is truly about building a sustainable digital business at all, particularly when it comes to Bezos’ motivations. While the opinion section’s new video ventures have clearly struggled to attract an audience, Bezos hasn’t publicly indicated any unhappiness with the section’s trajectory. A Bezos spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
In March, The New York Times reported that when former Post opinion editor David Shipley warned Bezos that a shift in editorial ideology risked alienating subscribers, the billionaire owner responded, “I don’t care.” To current Post staffers, the transformation increasingly appears less like a conventional audience strategy and more like an attempt by Bezos, who has fostered a noticeably cozier relationship with Trump, to reposition the storied newspaper around a worldview more aligned with his own political goals.
Ben Shapiro hosts “The Ben Shapiro Show.” (Screen grab via YouTube)
The Daily Wire’s recent layoffs hit 13% of staff at the right-wing media company as its revenue fell from 2024 levels, Drew Harwell reported. Ben Shapiro defended the company’s performance and ripped Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens as having “decided it was a good idea to clickwhore” as a business strategy. [WaPo]
Status Scoop | Is something afoot at Playbook? Adam Wren, the Midwest-based politics correspondent and Playbook contributing author, traveled to POLITICO’s headquarters in Rosslyn last week for a meeting with top editors Jonathan Greenberger and Alex Burns, Status has learned. The outlet, as we previously reported, is seeking to reboot the franchise. A POLITICO spokesperson declined comment.
Don Lemon announced the hiring of Daniel Grimes as his outlet’s first Washington correspondent, a new director of operations, and the launch of a daily newsletter on Substack as the Lemon Media Network surpasses 10 million followers across platforms. [Instagram]
CBS News landed the first U.S. broadcast interview with Benjamin Netanyahu since the war in Iran began, airing the Major Garrett interview with the Israeli prime minister on “60 Minutes.” [CBS News]
As the White House Correspondents’ Association considers a dinner re-do following an attempted attack, some former participants are questioning whether the annual affair should continue. [NYT]
“I would have stuck a fork in it a long time ago,” former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter told Elisabeth Bumiller. “Make it smaller. Make it like a proper dinner. Whatever it was, I would go back to that. Because it’s unsustainable.”
Savannah Guthrie posted a Mother’s Day tribute to her missing missing mom, Nancy, writing, “Please keep praying. Bring her home.” [Instagram]
👀 After a pitch from Rupert Murdoch over NFL rights negotiations, Donald Trump said it’s “very sad” for football games to migrate from broadcast TV to streaming platforms. [NBC Sports]
Trump went on another deranged attack on Fox News for interviewing a Democrat—in this case, Jacqui Heinrich hosting Rep. Ro Khanna—declaring that MAGA Republicans “hate Fox.” [Mediaite]
“Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy traded barbs on X with Chasten Buttigieg after he joined in criticizing her husband, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, amid ethical concerns about their “The Great American Road Trip” online show. [CNN]
“CBS Sunday Morning” looked at the history of CBS News Radio as it signs off amid Paramount-mandated budget cuts, including an interview with Dan Rather about working with Edward R. Murrow. [CBS News]
Pete Hegseth, Brett Kavanaugh, and Kash Patel walk into a bar: “Saturday Night Live” mocked the trio played by Colin Jost, Matt Damon, and Aziz Ansari in the cold open. [YouTube]
Jeremy Culhane’s Tucker Carlson made a return to the Weekend Update desk, taking on the Met Gala, saying attendees in couture gathered to “watch the American empire crumble.” [YouTube]
“The Boys” viewers (and its producer Eric Kripke) jumped on the parallel between a golden Homelander statue in the latest episode and one of Trump unveiled at Trump National Doral in Florida. [TV Insider]
Producers of the Channel 4 documentary “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack” blasted the BBC for shelving the project after winning at the BAFTA TV Awards, asking whether their acceptance speech would be cut from the delayed telecast. [THR]
Netflix included tissues in a Mother’s Day New York Times print insert for its movie “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” with the note, “You might need these!”
Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, and Stanley Tucci in “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” (Photo by Macall Polay/20th Century Studios)
“The Devil Wears Prada 2” overpowered “Mortal Kombat II” for the domestic top spot in its second weekend, with $43 million to an estimated $40 million, but “Michael” might have been the real star.
The Michael Jackson biopic fell just 33%, to an estimated $36.5 million, already surpassing “Bohemian Rhapsody” as the biggest musical biopic ever in North America at $240 million and counting.
Speaking of music, the 3D concert film “Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour” opened on the soft side of projections, with $7.5 million.
The major players have another weekend to pad their totals before “The Mandalorian and Grogu” opens wide heading into Memorial Day.
The latest episode of Power Lines just dropped.
In this week’s episode: CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour sounds the alarm about David Ellison’s impending takeover of the network—plus Bari Weiss sees her revamped “CBS Evening News” hit another embarrassing ratings low. Plus, we dive into James Murdoch’s interest in Vox Media and why top Substack publishers like The Bulwark are privately frustrated with the platform.
Plus, we check our voicemail box and respond to your questions. If you’d like to participate in the show, leave us a message at (646) 926-0325 or drop us a comment on YouTube.
You can watch Power Lines on YouTube—or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoy the program, subscribe so you never miss an episode!
