Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and THE WASHINGTON POST

by Martin Baron

Overview

“A closely observed, gripping chronicle of politics and journalism during a decade of turmoil.” —The New York Times Book Review

Politics. Money. Media. Tech. …It’s all here in Collision of Power.

“All the President's Men for a new generation.” —Town & Country

Marty Baron took charge of The Washington Postnewsroom in 2013, after nearly a dozen years leading The Boston Globe. Just seven months into his new job, Baron received explosive news: Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, would buy the Post, marking a sudden end to control by the venerated family that had presided over the paper for 80 years. Just over two years later, Donald Trump won the presidency.

Now, the capital’s newspaper, owned by one of the world’s richest men, was tasked with reporting on a president who had campaigned against the press as the “lowest form of humanity.” Pressures on Baron and his colleagues were immense and unrelenting, having to meet the demands of their new owner while contending with a president who waged a war of unprecedented vitriol and vengeance against the media.

In the face of Trump’s unceasing attacks, Baron steadfastly managed the Post’s newsroom. Their groundbreaking and award-winning coverage included stories about Trump’s purported charitable giving, misconduct by the Secret Service, and Roy Moore’s troubling sexual history. At the same time, Baron managed a restive staff during a period of rapidly changing societal dynamics around gender and race.
In Collision of Power, Baron recounts this with the tenacity of a reporter and the sure hand of an experienced editor. The result is elegant and revelatory―an urgent exploration of the nature of power in the 21st century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250844200
Publisher:	Flatiron Books
Publication date:	10/03/2023
Pages:	560
Sales rank:	32,937
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

Martin Baron is a longtime journalist and newspaper editor. He ran the newsrooms of The Miami Herald and The Boston Globe before taking over the Washington Post in 2013. He retired from journalism in early 2021 and now splits his time between New York City and Western Massachusetts. Collision of Power is his first book.

Editorial Reviews

2023-07-19
A newspaper resists manipulation and lies.

Making an engrossing debut, Baron recounts in candid detail his more than eight-year tenure as executive editor of the Washington Post, which Jeff Bezos purchased just months after he assumed his position. Bezos’ advent as owner immediately generated unease among the staff, who wondered what his interest was in buying a major newspaper—and whether he intended to control editorial content. Baron realized quickly, though, that Bezos was making a genuine commitment to invest in the Post’s success. “The era of ceaseless cutbacks had come to a halt,” he writes. Although focused on metrics and finances, Bezos staunchly supported editorial independence and journalistic integrity, a stance that put him on a collision course with Donald Trump, who expected Bezos to rein in the Post’s coverage of him and his administration. When that did not happen, he unleashed the “raw abuse of power” for which he was notorious. Among an apparently limitless list of Trump’s grievances, “atop them all was the press, and atop the press was The Post.” Bezos, though, proved unflappable. When he met with staff, Baron saw, “he had read and absorbed every memo to the slightest detail.” He discovered, and nurtured, the dedication that shaped the newspaper’s reputation. Offering his editor’s-eye view of decision–making challenges, Baron chronicles nearly a decade of history marked by sensitive, controversial stories such as Edward Snowden’s revelations of government surveillance; investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails; Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony against Brett Kavanaugh; the murder of contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi; George Floyd’s killing, which incited considerable unrest at the paper over issues of diversity; and the consequences of Trump’s defeat in 2020. His memoir is testimony to the efforts of a devoted staff whose commitment is reflected in a motto created by the paper just one month into Trump’s presidency: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”

An impassioned argument for objective journalism.

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Martin Baron’s Collision of Power

“A closely observed, gripping chronicle of politics and journalism during a decade of turmoil. . . . Monumental. . . . [Baron] shows that newsroom leadership, however devoid of ease or glamour, remains essential.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Revealing. . . . A tense, sometimes thriller tale of how the Post navigated a perilous time in journalism. . . . [Baron] clearly has researched extensively and thought deeply about how to cover the unprecedented presidency of Donald Trump. . . . Collision serves as a reminder throughout of how fragile democracy is.” —Associated Press

“A tell-all journalism memoir chronicling Baron’s highly consequential, sometimes tempestuous eight years as the Post’s executive editor.” —Vanity Fair

“Martin Baron is the era’s most respected newspaper editor. . . . [He is] slyly and often cuttingly observant. . . . Collision offers something scarcer and far more interesting than most arguments over theory, which is a vivid and detailed chronology of how his part of the press actually did its job. . . . Excellent.” —The Boston Globe

“Life at the apex of the newspaper hierarchy can be nasty, brutish and short. Baron, an avatar of traditional journalistic values, has weathered the challenges better than most. . . . Indispensable.” —Los Angeles Times

“Collision of Power visits all the stations of the cross of Baron’s spectacular makeover of the Post. . . . Lots of editors get lucky when a big story breaks their way, but nobody gets lucky long enough to accomplish what Baron has. . . . [Collision of Power’s] real service is the way it open-sources the Baron method on how to break consequential news: Obsess about getting the truth. Know your limits. Listen. Be fair. Report, report, report and report some more.” —Politico

“Especially fascinating.” —The New York Times

“A sobering account of a democracy under siege, and the muckrakers who kept government honest. . . . All the President's Men for a new generation.” —Town & Country

“Terrific.” —Poynter

“Few editors in American history have been as influential as Marty Baron, and so when he has thoughts to share, the rest of us should listen. This is an illuminating and important book about journalism and democracy.” —Jon Meacham

From the Publisher