Lori Falce: What did Jeff Bezos do wrong with lack of endorsement?

Buckle up. I’m about to castigate the third richest man in the world — for doing something I did, too.

A week ago, the Washington Post released its endorsement for the U.S. presidential race. It picked neither Democrat Kamala Harris nor Republican Donald Trump.

“We recognize that this will be read in a range of ways, including as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, or as a condemnation of another, or as an abdication of responsibility,” publisher and CEO William Lewis wrote in the column announcing the decision.

It came from Lewis rather than the Editorial Board because the board didn’t make the decision. An endorsement was decided and written, reportedly supporting Harris.

Multiple outlets have cited internal sources placing the decision to reverse that on Jeff Bezos, the billionaire who owns Amazon, Blue Origin and the Post. Even the paper’s own opinion section video producers have laid the blame at the wealthy owner’s feet — and staff members have resigned.

Bezos tried to roll back the outrage with a column Monday.

“We must be accurate, and we must be believed to be accurate,” he wrote.

He’s not wrong in citing the importance of pushing back from any perception of bias. He is wrong in thinking the non-endorsement endorsement looked unbiased.

How can I say that? On Oct. 20, the opinion page I edit featured an editorial in which we made a similar argument.

“As an organization, it is not TribLive’s job to tell people how to spend their precious, constitutionally endowed votes. We have an important role in the process, but that’s not it,” it stated.

So do I feel a little hypocritical in criticizing the decision of a newspaper with 68 Pulitzer Prizes? Not really.

Every year we explain that we are not endorsing and why. It is not a sudden about-face. The Trib has not endorsed a presidential candidate since 2012.

The Post’s endorsements have been a fixture since 1976. Waiting until days before the election to reverse five decades of history is not a statement of ethics. It’s the opinion journalism equivalent of ringing the doorbell and running away.

For many, Bezos’ failure is not taking a side in what might be the most consequential modern election. That has pushed more than 200,000 subscribers to quit the Post — and others to say they will drop Amazon Prime.

But for me, the issue is squandering years of opportunity to make a very valid argument. The newspapers who investigate, critique and hold to account those in power must work harder to push back from the appearance of bias.