Less than 24 hours after editor-in-chief Sally Buzbee resigned, Washington Post staff grilled the Paper’s new CEO and publisher, Will Lewis, in a tense all-hands meeting.
Busbee was the first woman to serve as editor in chief at the paper’s 144-year history, but stepped down after a three-year stint that saw the paper suffer financial and readership problems, with the publication losing more than $70 million last year and seeing readership drop by 50 percent from the previous year.
Lewis, a British-born media executive who joined the paper in November, has clashed with Busbee in recent months over his aggressive plans to split up the editorial department and his oversight, which led to him resigning on Sunday, according to reports.
Lewis stressed that stagnant readership and financial performance were the main focus of the shakeup, telling staff “when you know what it’s like to produce world-class journalism, you’ll thank me,” according to a source who summarized his remarks.
“The tone of the argument was one of blaming the newsroom for the losses, as if that’s why they needed a new team,” the source complained. “You can imagine how people feel about that.”
By the end of the meeting, sources said, Lewis’ overall message was for staff to just “follow the program,” without detailing potential consequences.
At the all-hands meeting, Mr. Lewis introduced Matt Murray, a former Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief, as Mr. Buzbee’s interim successor. Mr. Lewis, who worked with Mr. Murray at the Paper, said Mr. Murray, 58, would lead the editorial department during the election and then move on to run a new division focused on service and social media journalism.
Another friend of Lewis’, Robert Winnett, who worked at the Daily and Sunday Telegraph and gained notoriety for his coverage of the Parliamentary expenses scandal which cost many MPs their jobs, will then take over as editor.
The hour-long meeting, which also included a question-and-answer session, left reporters confused, with many questioning why Lewis hadn’t launched a formal search for Buzbee’s replacement and instead simply hired a friend and former colleague, media sources said.
“There were questions about the search process for Matt and absolutely no answers,” a source at the meeting told The Post.
Staffers privately asked how Winnett would obtain a U.S. visa for his new position. U.S. employers typically must prove they can’t find a qualified American for a job before offering it to a foreigner, but there are other ways Winnett could get permission to work at The Washington Post.
A representative for The Washington Post declined to comment.
Though the Washington, D.C.-based publication has struggled under Buzbee’s helm, it has won six Pulitzer Prizes, including three it won last month.
The New York Times During a meeting on Monday, Star political reporter Ashley Parker grilled Lewis about his hiring practices and lip-service promises to increase diversity in the newsroom.
All three editorial leaders, Murray, Winnett and opinion editor David Shipley, are white men.
“When you were here before, you spoke very movingly about how much you value diversity. And people talk about diversity, but when the time comes, they say, ‘Well, I looked around and I couldn’t find anybody,'” Parker said.
Lewis responded by saying diversity was a “constant challenge” for the Paper, adding that during his time at Dow Jones, the Paper’s publisher, the Paper had “the most diverse name in the Paper’s history,” according to The New York Times.
A source at the meeting echoed Parker’s concerns, saying Lewis has “removed any diversity from its leadership” and therefore “cannot expect to attract new readers”.
In recent months, it has become clear that Mr. Busby and Mr. Lewis, who was brought in to turn around the struggling paper and overhaul its organisation, are not on the same page.
According to the Times, shortly after Lewis informed staff of Busby’s resignation on Sunday night, he spoke by phone with managers and explained the reasons for his resignation.
She told reporters that she didn’t like Lewis’ new organizational structure, which split The Post’s editorial department into three smaller divisions.
“I would have liked to stay to get through this period, but the situation has become such that that’s not possible,” Buzbee said, according to a source with knowledge of the conversations.
Mr. Buzbee had resented Mr. Lewis’ strategy, which included splitting the editorial department into news, opinion and a new third division focused on service and social media journalism.
The two reached an “imbrogation” and the CEO gave the editor-in-chief authority to run two of the three editorial departments, but it was still a demotion.
Mr. Buzbee, who chose instead to resign, told management to reserve judgment on Mr. Lewis’ aggressive restructuring plan, the Times reported.
At a town hall meeting two weeks ago, Lewis laid out a list of priorities for the newspaper, including “build,” “fix” and “tell,” according to the Times.
Spokespeople said Lewis’ priorities seemed unclear and the latest personnel changes have left staff wondering how things will turn out.
“There doesn’t seem to be any real answer,” the source said.
