NPR Media Reporter Accuses Washington Post CEO of Trying to Kill Negative Story By Dangling Exclusive Interview

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

NPR media reporter David Folkenflik claimed the new publisher and CEO of the Washington Post, Will Lewis, tried to kill a negative story about his alleged role in the infamous phone hacking scandal by dangling an exclusive interview.

Folkenflik reported in a piece published on Thursday that back in December 2023 he was approached by Lewis, who at the time had just been appointed CEO of the Post by owner Jeff Bezos. According to Folkenflik, Lewis “repeatedly and heatedly” urged him not write a story about his role in the the phone hacking scandal, and offered an exclusive interview about the future of the Post if he dropped it.

Folkenflik alleged that a spokesperson for Lewis confirmed the quid pro quo offer. NPR published the hacking story anyway.

Court filings that were ruled in recently in British courts accused Lewis of helping to cover up the illegal phone hacking carried out by outlets owned by Rupert Murdoch. Lewis is not a defendant in the case but he is named in a lawsuit brought by Prince Harry and others. He has denied any wrongdoing.

A spokeswoman for Lewis told the Times that “when he was a private citizen ahead of joining The Washington Post, he had off the record conversations with an employee of NPR about a story the employee then published.”

The Folkenflik reporting comes as more information emerged regarding the ouster of Sally Buzbee, who resigned as executive editor of the Post last week. The New York Times reported that Buzbee resigned after Lewis pressured her to spike the Post’s coverage of his role in the hacking case on two separate occasions. In both cases, the Post went forward with the story.

Buzbee was “rattled from both discussions,” Folkenflik reported. A spokesperson for Lewis called the reporting he pressured Buzbee untrue.