Jeff Bezos’s Washington Post Is Falling Apart (w/ Max Tani) - The Bulwark

Summary4 min read

Podcast Summary: Jeff Bezos' Washington Post Is Falling Apart

Podcast: The Bulwark
Host: Will Sommer
Guest: Max Tani (Media Editor, Semaphore; Co-host, Mixed Signals)
Date: July 31, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the ongoing turmoil at The Washington Post under Jeff Bezos’ ownership, focusing on the sudden resignation of Opinion Editor Adam O’Neill. Host Will Sommer and guest Max Tani unpack what this means for the Post’s future, discuss the newsroom’s internal friction, management woes, and broader implications for legacy media navigating ideological and business upheavals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Breaking News: Adam O’Neill’s Resignation

Adam O’Neill, the Post’s relatively new Opinion Editor, has announced he will resign at the end of August.
Will notes the context: O'Neill was brought in after a wave of editorial board turmoil, following Jeff Bezos’s push for a “free markets and free expression” direction.

Max Tani (00:24): “Adam was the first editor who was supposed to kind of shepherd this new era of free markets and free expression that Jeff wanted to kind of ensure that the paper’s opinion section focused on. And he’s out after basically just a little bit over a year, which is a little bit strange.”

2. The Conservative Turn and Editorial Instability

The Post’s editorial board shifted sharply after it controversially withdrew its Kamala Harris endorsement at Bezos’ request.
O’Neill, in his 30s and lacking the stature of predecessors like Fred Hiatt, was tasked with leading this new direction, but his tenure was brief.

Will Sommer (01:46): “This was kind of like part of the drama that started shortly before the 2024 election when the Post pulled its Kamala Harris endorsement at Jeff Bezos's request, essentially. ... A lot of people quit, a lot of people were fired.”

3. Internal Friction, Departures, and Low Morale

Max describes mass departures and rising dissatisfaction inside the newsroom, with many established staffers having left.
O’Neill was not well-liked internally, reportedly facing significant resistance and dissatisfaction from both the newsroom and editorial staff.
Despite O’Neill’s claims of improved traffic in a note to staff, “not everybody was pleased” with his innovations, including podcasts and video initiatives.

Max Tani (03:23): “So many of these people are gone and have left for other places, you know, because of a lot of this kind of internal friction and str[ess]. ... I think people weren’t the biggest fans of Adam, you know, as a person in the newsroom.”

4. Leadership and Reputation Questions

The appointment of O’Neill, described as “kind of a weird choice,” was notable given his youth, conservative credentials, and “mixed management record.”
Will points out the magnitude of O’Neill’s challenge compared with prior, more respected editors.

Will Sommer (04:43): “He was kind of a weird choice for this ... previously Ed Board chairs were people like Fred Hyatt ... Then you bring in this guy who had been at the Dispatch ... not very popular when he was there. And then he was, like, in his 30s ... He had big shoes to fill, essentially, and, boy, did he not fill them.”

5. Implications for the Post and Legacy Media

The hosts speculate on future directions, editorial leadership challenges, and the paper’s struggle to maintain journalistic quality and morale amid ideological shifts and owner intervention.
The episode suggests the Post’s crisis is ongoing, with ripple effects for staff morale and reader trust.

Notable Quotes

Max Tani (00:24): “Adam was the first editor who was supposed to kind of shepherd this new era of free markets and free expression ... And he’s out after basically just a little bit over a year, which is a little bit strange.”
Will Sommer (01:46): “A lot of people quit, a lot of people were fired. And so as you said, I mean, we're, we don't know exactly what happened here, but... maybe there can be some speculation, some theories.”
Max Tani (03:23): “So many of these people are ... gone and have left for other places, you know, because of a lot of this ... internal friction and stress.”
Will Sommer (04:43): “He had big shoes to fill, essentially, and, boy, did he not fill them.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

00:00 — Introductions; framing the drama at the Washington Post
00:24 — Adam O’Neill’s resignation and significance in Jeff Bezos’s “new era”
01:46 — Conservative realignment and board turnover post-Kamala Harris endorsement
02:31 — Reports on newsroom morale and mass departures
03:23 — Staff dissatisfaction with O’Neill and opinion-side innovations
04:43 — Discussion of O’Neill’s atypical background and leadership performance

Memorable Moments

The incredulity at the volume of Post staff who’ve left:

Max Tani (03:23): “Just going through my phone and looking at, you know, the number of... I feel I have dozens of Washington Post contacts. And even just looking through them, I'm like, oh my God. So many of these people are gone and have left for other places...”
Will’s humor about checking disappointing podcast numbers:

Will Sommer (04:43): “Whenever I'm feeling down, I like to go check the podcast numbers.”

Summary

This episode offers a revealing look at the leadership crisis and morale problems roiling the Washington Post under Jeff Bezos, centered on the short, rocky tenure and surprise departure of editorial chief Adam O’Neill. Through insider insight and sharp commentary, Will Sommer and Max Tani explore how one of America’s flagship newspapers has struggled to manage ideological, managerial, and generational change—leaving both its staff and its readers unsettled about what comes next.

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Transcript5 lines

[00:00]
A
Welcome back to the Bulwark. I'm Will Sommer, joined today by Max Taney. He's a media editor at Semaphore and the co host of the Mixed Signals podcast on media. And the reason we had to bring in Max is because you know what, there's drama again at the Washington Post and no one knows it better than Max. And so, Max, what is the latest coming out of the Post? The House of Bezos. There's trouble afoot.
[00:24]
B
Well, I, you know, I should, I feel like, give a little caveat there because I feel like you know it pretty well as someone who used to work there. But no, there was a big development today. The Post has actually been a little bit quiet recently compared to some of the other major legacy media players that have been, you know, undergoing some major changes, places like cbs. But today, the opinion editor of the Post, Adam o', Neill, announced that he was resigning at the end of August. This is really interesting and struck people as, as somewhat notable because Adam, of course, was the opinion editor who came in to replace David Shipley after he resign, mind over essentially not wanting to make changes to the opinion section that Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Post, wanted to make. Adam was the first editor who was supposed to kind of shepherd this new era of free markets and free expression that Jeff wanted to kind of ensure that the paper, paper's opinion section focus on. And he's out after basically just a little bit over a year, which is a little bit strange. And I'm sure we're going to get into some of the speculation as to why, but it definitely is a sign that not all of the turmoil or tumult that we've seen at the Post over the last few years is quite over yet.
[01:46]
A
Yeah, I mean, this is the guy essentially who was supposed to lead the conservative, the free markets turn for the Washington Post Ed Board. As you said, this was kind of like part of the drama that started shortly before the 2024 election when the Post pulled its Kamala Harris endorsement at Jeff Bezos's request, essentially. And then there was all this turmoil on the opinion side. And then ultimately Adam o' Neill was kind of brought in as the guy who was going to like be the new face, the new right wing, conservative, libertarian, whatever face of the Ed board. A lot of people quit, A lot of people were fired. And so as you said, I mean, we're, we don't know exactly what happened here, but I think maybe there can be some speculation, some theories. And what are you hearing?
[02:32]
B
Yeah, I Mean, I've been talking to people all day, kind of trying to take the temperature. I mean, to your point that you said before, there has been. There have been a lot of departures, actually. Just going through my phone and looking at, you know, the number of. I feel I have dozens of Washington Post contacts. And even just looking through them, I'm like, oh, my God. So many of these people are. Are gone and have left for other places, you know, because of a lot of these. This kind of internal friction and str. Look, Adam hasn't talked to anybody yet, including the Post. He did not return his own papers request for comment, which I think is notable and also kind of gets at. I think one of the things that I've been hearing repeatedly over the course of the day, which is just that I think that he wasn't a particularly well liked figure within the newsroom, within the paper. And I think on the newsroom side, you know, there is a little bit of. I think. I think people are a bit more satisfied, you know, with the idea that it might go in a different direction. I think a lot of people in the newsroom have been really frustrated by some of the stuff that's been happening on the opinion side over the last year, because I think, frankly, there are a lot of really talented, skilled journalists who break a lot of stories that people want to read. And what. Many Washington Post readers and subscribers have not been pleased with the new direction of the editorial board. So I think that there's a lot of. I think that there are a few people who may be very pleased by a decision for Adam to leave on the news side. And I think apparently from talking to people, morale on the opinion side hasn't been much better either. There have been a few people who I talked to who said that the paper hasn't been particularly pleased by some of the metrics. Though Adam, in his note to other staffers today, was quick to point out some of the places where traffic has improved. But from what I hear, people weren't the biggest fans of Adam, you know, as a person in the newsroom. And not everybody was pleased as well with the performance of some of the things that he's. That he's tried to push while in charge of the opinion section, including some of its podcasts and videos.
[04:43]
A
Oh, my God. Stuff I love to talk about whenever I'm feeling down, I like to go check the podcast numbers. Let's dive into that, but briefly. Just so this is Adam O'. Neill. This guy was in his 30s. He was kind of a weird choice for this previously Ed Board chairs were like, people like Fred Hyatt who were seen as know, love him or hate him. These were people who were, like, very significant journalists in Washington, really prominent figures. Then you bring in this guy who had been at the Dispatch, which is obviously conservative site, a a guy who had sort of, according to his reporting from Oliver Darcy, a mixed management record, shall we say, not very popular when he was there. And then he was like, in in his 30s, kind of this this guy who was it was usually not sort of. He had big shoes to fill, essentially, and, boy, did he not fill them. And then, curiously, they began. Let's play that video, the clip we have from intro video put out about.