NEW YORK — The Washington Post’s new editor-in-chief, Robert Winnett, resigned on Friday, deciding to remain in Britain without fulfilling his duties amid fresh turmoil at the news organization where a reorganization plan has failed disastrously.
Washington Post’s new editor-in-chief quits job after backlash, stays in UK
Winnett had been the subject of multiple reports, including about the newsroom he sought to lead, questioning whether he adhered to ethics foreign to American journalists. The Post’s CEO and publisher announced Winnett’s decision in a memo to staff and said the Post would immediately hire a search firm to find a replacement.
The financially struggling Washington Post had announced that Winnett would take over key editorial duties as editor-in-chief after the November presidential election, but was also creating a “third editorial board” dedicated to finding new ways to make the paper’s journalism profitable.
Three weeks ago, then-editor-in-chief Sally Buzbee said she would resign rather than be demoted to lead the revenue-improvement effort. In addition to hiring Mr. Winnett, former Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Matt Murray was hired as Ms. Buzbee’s interim replacement and future leader of the “Newsroom 3.”
Since then, several articles have been published raising questions about the journalistic ethics of Lewis and Winnett as a result of their work in the UK, including their collaboration on a series of scoops about British politicians over spending based on information paid to data intelligence companies – a practice frowned upon by American journalists.
The New York Times reported that both Winnett and Lewis were involved in a story that appeared to be based on illegally obtained phone and business records.
The affair has sparked a revolt within The Washington Post’s editorial staff, and David Maraniss, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who worked there for 40 years, said this week that no one at the paper expected the relationship between the publisher and “the supposed new editor” to continue.
“My body is rejecting the transfusion,” Maraniss wrote on Facebook.
Lewis, a former Wall Street Journal publisher and vice chairman of the Associated Press board of directors, joined The Washington Post earlier this year after being hired by billionaire owner Jeff Bezos to stem a loss of readers after the paper announced a $77 million loss last year.
In a memo to key staff earlier this week, Bezos assured them that the paper’s journalistic standards and ethics would remain unchanged. “I know you’ve heard from Will already, but I wanted to speak to you directly,” he wrote.
“To be sure, we cannot continue business as usual at The Washington Post,” Bezos wrote. “The world is rapidly evolving, and as a company we need to change too.”
Maraniss said in a Facebook post that the issue for staff is integrity, not resistance to change, so it remains to be seen whether Lewis can get staff support to survive.
“I think the consensus for now is that Will Lewis will stay,” former Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan said in a message on X Friday. “The prior firing of Winnett was a sacrifice/compromise. Was his tenure shorter than Scaramucci alone?”
Lewis said Friday that a search firm and hiring process to replace Winnett would be announced soon. Winnett’s sudden hiring, without any indication of a thorough search, has left staff frustrated.
Lewis said the restructuring effort continues despite the delays, and that the “third newsroom” is expected to be up and running early next year.
Winnett will stay at the Telegraph newspaper in London, where its editor-in-chief Chris Evans told the Guardian: “He’s a talented man and their loss is our gain.”
Associated Press London correspondent Jill Lawless contributed to this report. David Bauder writes about media for The Associated Press. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dbauder.
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