This week’s blockbuster revelations about the possible role of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in the hacking of Jeff Bezos’ phone was a literal eye-popper of a story. It raised so many troubling questions about technology, politics and business. For me though, it was a moment for reflection on a tangential story: how differently the Amazon CEO’s purchase of the Washington Post has played out than many expected. 

In 2013, when Bezos announced he was buying the venerable newspaper, I was a reporter at the New York Times and co-wrote its story about the deal, which stunned newsrooms around the country, along with a lot of people in Washington, D.C.