(RepublicanNews.org) – The Washington Post’s CEO and publisher delivered a stern message to the organization’s staff this week during a meeting called after the executive editor was suddenly ousted.
According to The Washington Post’s own reporting on the situation, CEO William Lewis held a meeting alongside Matt Murray, the paper’s new interim executive editor, with the entire staff in the newsroom as the paper contends with the sudden ousting of executive editor Sally Buzbee.
Lewis told the staff that the situation would be turned around, then clarified that he would “not sugarcoat it” and that it actually “needs turning around.” Lewis warned that the paper is bleeding “large amounts of money,” and its audience has dwindled over recent years to half what it used to be.
Ultimately, Lewis harshly informed the Washington Post’s staff that people weren’t reading their “stuff” anymore and that he could no longer “sugarcoat” the situation. Although Lewis did not mention Buzbee as directly to blame for the dire situation in the media organization, the period of decline he references occurred throughout Buzbee’s leadership.
Buzbee began leading the paper in May 2021. On Sunday, June 2nd, Lewis announced that she would be stepping away from the organization “effective immediately.” Murray was announced as Buzbee’s temporary replacement. The former editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal will most likely hold the position at the Washington Post until the end of the 2024 election. Lewis also announced a restructuring of the paper into three different newsrooms, which he said will hopefully correct the publication’s course.
Buzbee was allegedly unhappy with the restructuring proposal and uncomfortable with running a different division, a position she was offered. She also advised Lewis to wait until after election season was over to implement such large changes, which the CEO disagreed with.
The paper reported that the sudden changes left them “reeling” in the newsroom as Lewis attempted to save the company amid falling viewership and subscriptions. In 2023, the paper lost over $70 million and more than half its audience. The gasping of The Washington Post is just the latest example of a struggling media market, which has experienced mass layoffs over the last few years.
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