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Bezos at Sea, The Kaitlan Experiment & Murdoch Succession Fantasies

To level-set, Jeff Bezos spent twice as much on this new 417-foot, Sanchez-adorned yacht as he did on the Post.
To level-set, Jeff Bezos spent twice as much on this new 417-foot, Sanchez-adorned yacht as he did on the Post. Photo: Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Prime Video
Dylan Byers
May 24, 2023

Yes, it’s almost Memorial Day, a bend in the media calendar which usually signals the start of tentpole season, and the beginning of a quiet period punctuated by conclaves such as the Allen & Co. conference, Cannes Lions, and David Zaslav’s annual summer party. Of course, the deal heat and gossip are in overdrive. Herewith, Puck co-founder Jon Kelly and I offer some extemporaneous analysis on the largest stories dotting the landscape: what’s going on at The Washington Post, Murdoch whispers, Times kremlinology, and, of course, CNN.


Jon Kelly: Dylan, Jeff Bezos recently announced that he was marrying Lauren Sanchez and launching a new $500 million yacht, Koru, which features a mermaid-esque sculpture of Sanchez, Titanic-style. Yes, sure, I’m happy for Bezos and Sanchez, who can do whatever they please with their wealth and time, but this latest public display of devotion must also trigger the long simmering anxiety within the Washington Post Company—that Bezos seems focused on his personal life and may be content with the Post’s retreat to second place in its perennial rivalry with The New York Times, which poaches its talent with regularity these days. At the end of Q1, Times Company C.E.O. Meredith Kopit Levien brought over Joy Robins, the Post Co.’s C.R.O., as global chief advertising officer. Killer move.