The eroticism gifWashington Posthas a new slogan: Democracy Dies in Darkness.
That's not just something for its press materials. The words are now right there below the paper's name on the front page of its website.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Postowner Jeff Bezos, better known as CEO of Amazon, said the phrase in a 2016 interview with the paper's editor-in-chief Marty Baron.
When asked why he bought the paper, Bezos told a story about watching the Watergate hearings with his grandfather, who he described as "kind of a news junkie."
"I think that a lot of us believe this, that democracy dies in darkness, that certain institutions have a very important role in making sure that there is light, and I think the Washington Posthas a seat, an important seat to do that," he said.
Slogans aren't exactly rare for newspapers. The New York Timeshas for decades gone with "All the news that's fit to print." USA Today goes with "We deliver news, not noise."
"Democracy not darkness," however, comes off a bit more dramatic — though perhaps warranted considering current events.
This being the modern social media age, the internet had to have a bit of fun with it (Slate's "15 classic metal albums whose titles are less dark than the Washington Post's new motto" is a personal favorite"), and media twitter predictably added a bit of its usual snark to the mix.
We here at Mashable wanted to add our own take. To us, "Democracy Dies in Darkness" sounds like a pretty good political thriller. As such, illustrator Vicky Leta whipped this up for us:
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable We look forward to the sequel: "Washington Post 2: Journalism Boogaloo"
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