‘Can’t Sugarcoat It’: Washington Post CEO And Staff Reportedly Throw Down in Fiery Meeting After EIC’s Abrupt Exit

The surprise Sunday night exit of Washington Post Executive Editor Sally Buzbee led to a “contentious” Monday staff meeting and a statement of concern from the paper’s union over the apparent new direction of the storied publication.

The Washington Post Guild put out a statement on Monday, saying, “We’re troubled by the sudden departure of our executive editor Sally Buzbee and the suggestion from our Publisher & CEO Will Lewis that the financial issues plaguing our company span from the work of us as journalists instead of mismanagement from our leadership. We are also concerned about the lack of diversity at the top levels of the organization, especially as The Post seeks to reach new audiences while continuing to cover the most pressing issues in the nation and the world.”

Matt Murray, former editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, will take Buzbee’s place running the paper – just three years after she stepped in to replace legendary editor Marty Baron. Murray will helm the Post through the presidential election and will then be replaced fulltime by Robert Winnett — former deputy editor of Britain’s Telegraph.

Lewis addressed the changes and noted that the Post has been hemorrhaging cash in recent years, including some $77 million last year, which led to some 13% of the staff being laid off during 2023. “We are going to turn this thing around, but let’s not sugarcoat it: it needs turning around,” Lewis reportedly told staffers. “We are losing large amounts of money. Your audience is halved. People are not reading your stuff. I can’t sugarcoat it anymore.”

The Post itself also reported on the Monday morning staff meeting, writing that it “turned contentious as staff members pressed Lewis about Buzbee’s departure and his plans to spin off portions of The Post’s journalism into a new division.”

“This is change about growth,” Murray reportedly told staffers. “It’s change about the future. It’s change about building on The Post and taking it to the next generation and enhancing the legacy of the place.” The Post report on the shake up added:

Lewis, who previously worked with Murray at the Journal, called him “a proper journalist who loves causing trouble and working with fellow editors and reporters, and an old-fashioned editor who will edit each day.”

Though Lewis took staff questions, he refused to give specifics about the decision-making behind Buzbee’s departure.

Lewis was reportedly “also asked whether he had interviewed any diverse candidates or women to be the new executive editor” of the new section announced alongside Buzbee’s departure, “but did not give a definitive answer, per several sources.” Senior Political Reporter Ashley Parker spoke to NPR about Buzbee’s exit, saying, “The cynical interpretation is that it sort of feels like you chose two of your buddies.”

“And now we have four white men running three newsrooms,” Parker added, echoing The Washington Post Guild’s statement.