The Washington Post's Problems Now Include Its Publisher

Of all the problems presently plaguing American media, more white men rank fairly low on my list of potential solutions, with white men from the land of England ranking even lower. Unfortunately, I am not the owner of The Washington Post; Jeff Bezos is, and he has chosen British media executive Will Lewis to lead the newspaper.

Lewis, who was hired as the Post’s CEO and publisher in June last year and began his tenure in January, had his first meeting with staffers in November, where he reportedly charmed them and made assurances that he valued diversity and inclusion.

“I’m very passionate about that at all sorts of levels, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but actually it’s very good for business, as well,” Lewis said . “We need to look like America and that is a really important thing.”

Several months later, the British import is backtracking on that pledge amid another controversy: creating a working environment where “morale has fallen off a cliff,” according to a recent report from CNN.

The drama began on June 2 after Lewis announced in an email the abrupt departure of Sally Buzbee, the Post’s then-executive editor, as part of a restructuring of the newsroom. In her place would be ex-Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Matt Murray as interim executive editor, along with the hiring of Robert Winnett, the deputy editor of the Telegraph Media Group, in a newly created editor role following the 2024 presidential election. Both Murray and Winnett have previously worked for Lewis.

While some expected Lewis to replace Buzbee, they didn’t anticipate the change happening in the middle of an election year, as well as so many white men being handed control of the Post. This was evident in the all-hands meeting