After years of “democracy dies in the darkness,” The Washington Post now wants to play host to “riveting storytelling for all of America.” The new mission statement was previewed to some staffers by Post chief strategy officer Suzi Watford in meetings this week,

In a letter, more than 400 employees asked Jeff Bezos, the company’s owner and founder of Amazon, to meet, saying they were “deeply alarmed” by recent decisions at the paper.

A recent exodus of talent from The Washington Post has prompted more than 400 of its staffers to send an unusual letter to the Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos, expressing alarm over the newspaper’s direction and asking him to intervene.