Trump, Bezos and ‘The Washington Post’: A Conversation With Marty Baron
SPEAKER
MARTY BARON
Former Executive Editor, The Washington Post
Thursday, July 22, 2021
8:00pm HKT on Zoom
For more than four decades, Martin “Marty” Baron has been at the top ranks of American journalism, including taking the reins of The Washington Post in 2013 when the storied paper’s staff was diminished and demoralised by buyouts and budget cuts. After the Post was purchased by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Baron oversaw the expansion of its newsroom from 580 journalists to around 1,000, suggesting perhaps a model for other struggling newspapers. Baron was also at the helm of the Post when Donald Trump upended American politics and the paper adapted the motto “Democracy Dies In Darkness.” Despite the Trump administration’s near daily clashes with the Post, Baron always maintained, “We’re not at war, we’re at work.” In this one-on-one talk, Baron will discuss what it was like leading the Post newsroom during the tumultuous Trump presidency as well as the future of American journalism. Moderated by FCC President Keith Richburg.
Martin Baron has been editor of the Miami Herald, The Boston Globe and most recently The Washington Post. Baron-led newsrooms have won a total of 17 Pulitzer Prizes, including the Globe in 2003 for its investigation into a sexual abuse scandal in the Boston Catholic Church that was depicted in the Oscar-winning movie Spotlight. Under his leadership, The Washington Post won 10 Pulitzer prizes. A native of Tampa, Florida, Baron began his career in 1976 at the Miami Herald, moved to the Los Angeles Times in 1979 and later to The New York Times before returning to the Miami Herald as Editor. He is currently at work on his first book, to be titled Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos and The Washington Post.