Spiked
Yesterday, at a hastily called meeting of the Opinions section of The Washington Post — when distraught staffers wanted to know if they could opine about the edict by owner Jeff Bezos instructing them about what they are allowed to think and what they are allowed to write about — they got only crickets in response.
But Erik Wemple, the sections excellent veteran media critic, said confidently that he was going to write about it. After all, it was his job to write about it.
I knew of that yesterday but did not report it. I wanted to see what happened first.
Nothing happened. Nothing by Wemple appeared in the paper or online today.
I called Erik, whom I consider a friend, to ask if he was still planning to write. He said something I’d never before heard from a him or any other media critic: No comment, not on or off the record. He offered no hints. No winks or nudges, no nothing. He apologized, but I understood entirely. The atmosphere in the newsroom is miasmic, poisoned by fear and distrust.
I went elsewhere. Yeah, Erik wrote a column. It was described to me by someone who saw it as “more mystified and saddened than outraged or appalled.”
And yes, it was spiked. Killed, in newspeak.
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