Last month, the Washington Post publisher drank coffee with prominent right-leaning journalists and discussed how to seduce more conservative reporters and editors primarily into left-leaning outlets.
Tapped to lead the Washington Post by heavily-paid Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Will Lewis sat in a record-breaking meeting with free beacon editor Eliana Johnson. According to Oliver Darcy's status newsletter.
According to status, it is unclear what came from the meeting. This post was sought for comment from Lewis.
“I have not commented on private meetings or conversations, but it's not a matter of deep interest for many people,” Johnson posted.
News from the conference coincided with MSNBC's announcement that Jackie Alemany, who covered politics in the Washington Post, was featured as a co-host shown by its “weekend” panel.
Alemany will co-host the show with another Washington Post personality, Jonathan Cape Hart, and Politico's White House correspondent Eugene Daniels.
“Jackie has built a reputation for accountability journalism covering the country's capital from both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue,” says MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler. He said in a statement.
“As a co-host for the morning 'weekend', she, alongside Eugene Daniels and Jonathan Capehart, solidifies the trio as a trusted roundtable for experts and insiders.
Alemany is the latest Washington Post journalist to leave his papers after an overhaul of management editors and opinions pages.
Several WAPO staff have departed since the beginning of this year, including Ben Terris, Lee Anne Caldwell, Tony Rom, Isaac Stanley Becker and Cristiano Lima Strong.
Speaking about status, staff members described a newsroom that is plagued by low morale following leadership decisions.
“I worked in messy newsrooms, and even when I ran away from them, I thought I could confidently tell them why they should or shouldn't work there, depending on their career goals and values,” a former Washington Post employee told Status.
“I can't make that claim about the post anymore.”
Bezos, who bought the Washington Post from the Grahams in 2013 for $250 million in cash, announced last week that the opinion section of the newspaper would be dedicated to advocating “personal freedom” and “free markets.”
David Shipley, the newspaper opinion editor, has resigned. It has been reported that over 75,000 readers have cancelled their subscriptions in protest.
A few weeks before the November 5 election, Bezos blocked the editorial board from supporting former vice president Kamala Harris, a Democratic candidate.
Bezos' decision to hire Lewis as a publisher was also filled with surprises from newsroom employees.
When he took over the publishing house last June, Lewis appointed Murray as executive editor and replaced Sally Buzby.
The New York Post has requested comment from the Washington Post.
