Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, said Wednesday he told employees the newspaper’s opinions section will express support for “personal liberties” and “free markets.”

“We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets,” Bezos said he wrote to the “Washington Post team” in a message shared on social media platform X.

“We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others,” the owner said.

The announcement represents a change to the newspaper’s opinions section, Bezos said.

“There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader’s doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views,” he said. “Today, the internet does that job.”

Bezos added that he’s confident “personal liberties” and “free markets” are “right” for the U.S.

“I also believe these viewpoints are underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion. I’m excited for us together to fill that void,” he said.

Opinion Editor David Shipley resigned after Bezos’s decision, according to the owner. The New York Times reported Shipley as writing in a note to the section’s staff members that he quit after reflecting on how he can “best move forward” in the profession he loves.

Bezos shared in his message what he described as his interaction with the editor.

“I offered David Shipley, whom I greatly admire, the opportunity to lead this new chapter. I suggested to him that if the answer wasn’t ‘hell yes,’ then it had to be ‘no,’ “ Bezos said. “After careful consideration, David decided to step away.”

Jeff Stein, a White House economics reporter for the newspaper, wrote on X that Bezos’s decision is “massive encroachment” into the opinions section and makes clear that dissenting views will not be published nor tolerated in it.

Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.