The Washington Post rolls out new motto

In this photo, taken Dec. 11, 2015, the One Franklin Square Building in Washington, that houses the Washington Post newspaper. The Washington Post is featuring a new motto on the paper’s website: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” The words now appear underneath the name of the paper on its website. They were not, however, in a similar place in the paper’s print edition Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017. Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos used the phrase in an interview last year when asked to explain why he purchased the paper in 2013 . (Photo by PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS/AP)

WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington Post is featuring a new motto on the paper’s website: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”

The words now appear underneath the name of the paper on its website. They were not, however, in a similar place in the paper’s print edition Wednesday.

Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos used the phrase in an interview last year when asked to explain why he purchased the paper in 2013.

“I think 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 Post has a seat, an important seat, to do that because we happen to be located here in the capital city of the United States of America,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the paper, Kris Coratti, said in an email that the paper began using the slogan last week with the launch of its new channel on Snapchat Discover. She said it went online Tuesday.

“This is actually something we’ve said internally for a long time in speaking about our mission. We thought it would be a good, concise value statement that conveys who we are to the many millions of readers who have come to us for the first time over the last year,” Coratti wrote.