There was a time–possibly during my lifetime–when people relied heavily on the local newspaper for their political opinions, having few other sources of news. Those days are gone, probably never to return. As a result, there is a case to be made for refusing to provide endorsements; after all, if you aren’t going to sway public opinion, and you may piss off a large portion of your readership, what’s the point?
But the timing of Jeff Bezos’ decision not to endorse in the presidential race makes it clear that his motivations were completely different; he was afraid of angering Trump, and he didn’t want to face any form of retaliation. Read your own paper, Jeff. Democracy dies in darkness; it also dies when powerful people cut deals with authoritarians to save their own skins.