Collision of Power, Martin Baron
Collision of Power, Martin Baron
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Collision of Power
Trump, Bezos, and THE WASHINGTON POST

Author: Martin Baron

Narrator: Liev Schreiber

Unabridged: 16 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/03/2023


Synopsis

This program features a prologue and epilogue read by the author.

A monumental work of nonfiction that gives a first-row seat to the epic power struggle between politics, money, media, and tech—for fans of Maggie Haberman's Confidence Man and Jane Mayer's Dark Money.

Marty Baron took charge of The Washington Post newsroom 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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

About Martin Baron

Martin Baron is a longtime journalist and newspaper editor. He ran the newsrooms of The Miami Herald and The Boston Globe before being named executive editor of The Washington Post in 2013. His role in launching an investigation of the Catholic Church’s cover-up of sexual abuse by clergy was portrayed in the Academy Award-winning movie “Spotlight.” Baron retired from daily journalism in early 2021 and now splits his time between Western Massachusetts and New York City. Collision of Power is his first book


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jack on October 13, 2023

I found this book pretty riveting. One of the best books I've read all year. I will definitely recommend it, particularly for Baron's take on the role of the press in combating misinformation and propaganda. One way to describe Collision of Power is the Post's tagline: democracy dies in darkness. Th......more

Goodreads review by Kate (kate_reads_) on January 05, 2025

This is extremely hard to read as Trump is getting ready to start his second term. It’s so hard to be reminded of so many moments in his first term and know he was still elected again. There are parts of this book that were really interesting and good to learn. But also a lot that felt like Baron be......more

Goodreads review by Christopher on February 25, 2024

Partisan hack job better entitled: “Tears of a Liberal Snowflake: My Years Running The Washington Post’s Newsroom.” Snooty and arrogant. The author’s innumerable gripes and soap box diatribes overshadow any insight on Bezos’s or Trump’s use of power and influence. You won’t catch me falling over to......more

Goodreads review by Dennis on October 08, 2023

Just finished Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post by Martin Baron, an important new book just released on October 3, 2023. Baron is the retired executive editor of The Washington Post and before that he held the same position with the Miami Herald and The Boston Globe. He was e......more

Goodreads review by Sara on March 06, 2025

This book has College SJ all over it. I stumbled upon this after the recent shakeups and news coming out of the Washington Post and how Jeff Bezos is dictating more and more of the editorial operations. I subscribed to the Washington Post in college and on and off since then. It is at the intersecti......more


Quotes

Praise for Collision of Power:

“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

"Engrossing. . . . Candid. . . . Baron chronicles nearly a decade of history marked by sensitive, controversial stories. . . . Impassioned." Kirkus

Praise for Martin Baron:

“One of the greatest newspaper editors of his or any other era.” Esquire

“A newsroom giant who led The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and the Miami Herald to numerous Pulitzer Prizes in a career noted for groundbreaking reports.” The New York Times

“One of the leading newspaper editors of our time.” —CBS Sunday Morning