(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) The Washington Post reportedly distanced itself from its infamous “Democracy Dies in Darkness” slogan for a new internal mission statement just days before President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration.
The leftist newspaper initially adopted its “Democracy Dies in Darkness” tagline when Trump took office in 2017.
To create distance from its blatantly anti-Trump branding, The Washington Post unveiled its new mission statement: “Riveting Storytelling for All of America.”
scoop: The Washington Post today is unveiling a new mission statement that has been in the works for months
— Ben Mullin (@BenMullin) January 16, 2025
Although executives are not planning to dump “Democracy Dies in Darkness” as its public-facing slogan, its new mission statement is meant to be “an internal rallying point for employee,” according to the New York Times.
This comes after Washington Post owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos prevented his newspaper from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
Bezos will join Trump ally Elon Musk and other Big Tech giants, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who did a political 180 as soon as Trump got elected, at Monday’s inauguration.
🚨 Google CEO Sundar Pichai is joining Bezos, Musk, Zuckerberg and Altman in attending Trump's inauguration pic.twitter.com/CWmFafnpHO
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) January 16, 2025
More than 400 Washington Post employees raged against Bezos in a letter Wednesday that requested a meeting to discuss his decisions that “led readers to question the integrity of this institution” and that “prompted some of our most distinguished colleagues to leave,” the outlet reported.
Reports coming in the Washington Post is dropping its “democracy dies in darkness” slogan for this new one, “riveting storytelling for all of America.@ This as there’s major chaos in the newsroom with reporters quitting and reports that 400 workers sent a letter to owner Jeff…
— Elizabeth MacDonald (@LizMacDonaldFOX) January 17, 2025
Bezos hopes to attract a wider audience of Washington Post readers, particularly working-class Americans in coastal cities, according to the outlet.
Trump made historic gains with blue-collar voters, a traditional Democrat stronghold, across the country when he defeated Harris.
Bezos also wants to take steps for conservatives to read the Washington Post, the outlet reported.
Suzi Watford, the Washington Post’s chief strategy officer, explained in a presentation that “Storytelling” is what should “bring a relentless investigative spirit, backed by credible sources, to deliver impactful stories in formats the world wants,” two people who saw the slide deck told the outlet.
Their new goal is to reach “all of America,” the outlet reported.
The declining Washington Post must “understand and represent interests across the country” and “provide a forum for viewpoints, expert perspectives and conversation,” the presentation said.
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and the American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
