What an eventful start to the year it’s been for the Jeff Bezos-Amazon-Washington Post media axis.
On Monday, it was reported by Oliver Darcy of the Status newsletter that dozens of Washington Post employees are expected to be laid off imminently — job losses that seem hard to separate from the 300,000 subscriptions that were cancelled in the wake of the decision by Bezos, the owner of the Post since 2013, to block the title’s planned endorsement of Kamala Harris.
Over the weekend, the newspaper’s Pulitzer-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned after it refused to publish her cartoon depicting Bezos and other tech bosses gleefully offering bags of money to a statue of Donald Trump. A bonus Mickey Mouse was shown lying facedown to signify Disney’s recent defamation payout to the president-elect.
What’s in store for 2025?
Meanwhile, in Melania Trump news, a “behind-the-scenes” documentary about her life will be unveiled in the second half of 2025 by none other than Amazon-owned streaming service Prime Video.
Melania, who will reclaim her first-lady status after Trump is inaugurated on January 20th, will be an executive producer of the documentary, which doesn’t exactly point to a thorough exposé. This doubtlessly kind portrait will be shown in cinemas — US cinemas, at least — and also streamed on Prime, which declared itself “excited to share this truly unique story”.
The untitled project will be directed by Brett Ratner, who in 2017 was accused of sexual misconduct by six women, which he denies.
Speaking of the inauguration, Amazon was one of several companies to announce plans in December to chip in money — $1 million (€960,000), in its case — to help fund it. It also said it would stream the event on Prime Video in a separate in-kind donation worth another $1 million.
The Amazon founder may not be the only tech chief rushing to ingratiate himself with Trump, as the rejected cartoon depicted, but he sure seems to be immersing himself in the task. By the time January is done, conclusive proof that he is beyond satire may well be in the post.
- Sign up for Business push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our Inside Business podcast is published weekly - Find the latest episode here
