In case anyone was wondering whether the acquisition by Amazon's Jeff Bezos of the
Washington Post would result in any significant changes to the leading newspaper in the nation's capital, we now have the answer. From the
Post itself, which just announced
Frederick J. Ryan Jr. as its new publisher:
Ryan, 59, is a political hand going back to his days as a recent University of Southern California law graduate volunteering as an advance man in Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign. He followed Reagan to the White House in 1982 and stayed through the end of Reagan’s second term.
It was personal.
Ryan was particularly close to first lady Nancy Reagan, who was fiercely protective of her husband and did not give her trust easily.
And he kept following Reagan.
When Reagan left office in 1989, Ryan followed him home to California as chief of staff of the post-presidency.
And he kept following Reagan.
Reagan’s image recovered. Ryan was instrumental to overseeing that as chairman of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library and of the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission. He was so dedicated that even after Reagan’s death, he personally bought a pub in Ireland that had been named for the president and shipped its contents back to the library in Simi Valley, Calif. He also procured Reagan’s Air Force One to be an exhibit in the library.
And ever after.
In 2011, Ryan organized a year of events to celebrate what would have been Reagan’s 100th birthday, including a float at the Rose Bowl, a car at the Indianapolis 500 and a Beach Boys concert.
And then he helped found the ultimate right-wing Beltway Bubble media site.
Ryan’s main job at Allbritton was running the TV stations, but he also was a co-founder of Politico, which launched in early 2007.
If anyone was wondering whether the
Post could get
worse, they
need wonder
no more. Ryan is nothing more and nothing less than a career right-wing propagandist. And what was left of the
Post's reputation is forfeit.