Written by David Bauder | The Associated Press
The publisher of the Washington Post, Will Lewis, said on Saturday that he is stepping down, ending a troubled period three days after the newspaper said it was laying off one-third of its staff.
Lewis announced his departure in a two-part email to the newspaper’s staff, saying that after two years of transition, “now is the right time for me to step aside.” The Post’s chief financial officer, Jeff D’Onofrio, has been named interim publisher.
Neither Lewis nor the newspaper’s billionaire owner Jeff Bezos took part in the meeting with employees announcing the layoffs on Wednesday. Although expected, the cuts were deeper than expected, resulting in the closure of the Post’s popular sports division, the elimination of its photography staff and sharp reductions in staff covering metropolitan Washington and overseas coverage.
They came on the heels of a widespread talent drift in recent years at the paper, which lost tens of thousands of subscribers following Bezos’ order late in the 2024 presidential campaign to withdraw from a planned endorsement of Kamala Harris, and a subsequent reorganization of its opinion section.
Martin Baron, the Post’s first editor under Bezos, criticized his former boss this week for trying to curry favor with President Donald Trump and called what happened at the newspaper “an experiment in rapid brand destruction, and self-destruction.”
British-born Lewis was a senior executive at the Wall Street Journal before taking over The Post in January 2024. His tenure has been rocky from the start, marked by layoffs and a failed restructuring plan that led to the departure of former senior editor Sally Buzbee.
His first choice to take over from Buzbee, Robert Winnett, resigned after questions were raised about his dealings with Lewis while working in England. It includes paying for information that produced big news, actions that would be considered illegal in American journalism. The current managing editor, Matt Murray, took over shortly thereafter.
Lewis did not like Washington Post reporters who spoke frankly about their work, he once said in a staff meeting that they must make changes because there are not enough people learning their job.
This week’s layoffs have prompted Bezos to increase his investment in The Post or sell it to someone who will take a larger stake. Lewis, in his letter, praised Bezos: “The institution could not have had a better owner,” he said.
“During my tenure, tough decisions have been made to ensure a sustainable future for The Post so that for years to come it can publish high-quality non-partisan news to millions of customers each day,” Lewis said.
D’Onofrio, who joined the newspaper last June after serving as chief financial officer of digital ad management company Raptive, wrote to staff that “we’re ending a tough week of change with more change.
“These are challenging times for all media organizations, and The Post is unfortunately no different,” he wrote. “I had the privilege of helping to plan the course for the disruptors and civilization experts.” We all faced economic problems in the changing industrial landscape, and we rose to meet those times. I have no doubt that we will do just that, together.”
David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for AP. Follow him on again
