Columnist quits after Washington Post editor spikes op-ed criticizing Jeff Bezos' changes

A longtime columnist is leaving the Washington Post after a clash with the newspaper's publisher over an op-ed she wrote criticizing owner Jeff Bezos' changes to the opinion pages.

Columnist and associate editor Ruth Marcus announced her departure Monday, saying she can no longer stay at the paper where she's worked for four decades after she said chief executive and publisher Will Lewis spiked her column that was critical of Bezos' mandate to the opinion section, reported NPR.

"Jeff's announcement that the opinion section will henceforth not publish views that deviate from the pillars of individual liberties and free markets threatens to break the trust of readers that columnists are writing what they believe, not what the owner has deemed acceptable," Marcus wrote in her resignation letter.

More than 75,000 digital subscribers canceled within 48 hours after Bezos imposed the changes last month, and opinions editor David Shipley stepped down over the order.

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"Will's decision to not … run the column that I wrote respectfully dissenting from Jeff's edict – something that I have not experienced in almost two decades of column-writing –underscores that the traditional freedom of columnists to select the topics they wish to address and say what they think has been dangerously eroded," Marcus wrote.

Bezos blocked the newspaper from endorsing Kamala Harris for president, which caused 300,000 digital subscribers to cancel within days, and the Amazon executive has moved closer to Donald Trump since the election.

"I love the Post," Marcus wrote in her resignation letter. "It breaks my heart to conclude that I must leave. I have the deepest affection and admiration for my colleagues and will miss them every day. And I wish you both the best as you steer this storied and critical institution through troubled times."