It’s easy to forget that Sir Will Lewis’s arrival at the Washington Post in late 2023 provoked cautious optimism: He was an ex-journalist who charmed the newsroom. He was also a source of chaotic, but fresh, energy.
He arrived after years of genteel decline at a newspaper that could go one of two ways: It could be a collapsing metro paper like the Chicago Tribune; or a global powerhouse like the New York Times.
Lewis, who resigned today after overseeing deep cuts to the newsroom, lost his footing over two errors, one of his and one of owner Jeff Bezos’s: First, Lewis blocked the Post reporting on his role in the UK phone hacking scandal, preventing the publication of a story few would have read anyway. Then, Bezos pulled a planned endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris at the 11th hour, for apparent fear of offending Donald Trump. That endorsement wouldn’t have made much of a difference politically, but hundreds of thousands of subscribers canceled over what they saw as a craven capitulation.
Källa: Washington Post CEO resigns, leaving no clear strategy
