Politico Names New Editor in Chief Amid Weeks of Industry Intrigue

Sean JamesMar 29th, 2026, 5:21 pm

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Politico has selected Jonathan Greenberger to be its new editor in chief, the Wall Street Journal first reported on Sunday — in a scoop later confirmed by the outlet itself.

The 42-year-old — who has been a vice president at the outlet for two years and was previously an executive producer for This Week With George Stephanopoulos on ABC — will replace co-founder John Harris, who announced he would be stepping down as the top editor a few months back.

Since then, there has been plenty of industry buzz about who would take the position, amid what Status described as a “talent exodus.” Greenberger was selected after the Axel Springer-owned outlet considered bringing someone in from outside the company.

Status’ Natalie Korach reported on March 24 that Washington Post managing editor Peter Spiegel was considered a “frontrunner” to replace Harris before he took himself out of the running.

Korach reported a month earlier that The Economist columnist James Bennet and a “third unknown candidate” were also being considered for the role; the Associated Press executive editor Julie Pace was another name debated by Axel Springer chief executive Mathias Döpfner and other Politico leaders at one point.

“While executives are focused on regaining lost subscription revenue and exploring new ways to diversify, staffers are understandably preoccupied with the bigger question: Who will they be reporting to next?” Korach wrote on February 25.

The answer came a little more than a month later. Greenberger will take the top spot as Politico looks to rebound from losing about $8 million in government subscriptions last year to its Politico Pro product in DOGE cuts. and from several reporters exiting in the last year.

WSJ wrote about Greenberger on Sunday:

At Politico, his responsibilities have straddled both editorial and business development, including expanding Politico’s brand presence and journalism at global conferences on security and energy.

“A big part of what I’m going to be doing is thinking about how we embrace new platforms—how do we use technology to bring our journalism to broader audiences,” Greenberger said in an interview. “The need to understand what is happening in these corridors of power in 2026 is greater than ever before.”

The selection of a young executive who already has a foot on the business side of the operation reflects the realities of a modern media landscape being shaped by technological changes, such as artificial intelligence, and shifts in consumer habits. Editors today are often as focused on building and retaining audiences and considering new revenue streams as they are on directing news coverage.

Döpfner celebrated Greenberger’s promotion in a statement on Sunday afternoon.

“Jonathan Greenberger is an innovator. With his tech savviness, journalistic excellence, and experience across platforms, he will shape Politico’s next disruptive chapter. The leadership team assembled at Politico over the past two years has already made decisive changes and we are happy that Politico’s next Global Editor-in-Chief has emerged from that team,” he said.

Greenberger is expected to start his new role in May.

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