The publisher and chief executive officer of The Washington Post, Will Lewis, announced his decision to step down on Feb. 7, just days after the publication implemented significant staff cuts.
"After two years of transformation at The Washington Post, now is the right time for me to step aside," Lewis wrote in an email to the paper's staff.
On Feb. 4, the publication announced layoffs across nearly all of its news departments.
Lewis did not directly mention the staff cuts in his Saturday evening email but said “difficult decisions have been taken in order to ensure the sustainable future of The Post."
Lewis had held the title of publisher and CEO at The Washington Post since January 2024. He had also been the CEO and publisher of The Wall Street Journal from 2014 to 2020.
Shortly after Lewis made public his resignation, The Washington Post announced that Jeff D’Onofrio would fill in as the publication's acting CEO and publisher.
“The Post’s resolute commitment to writing the first rough draft of history anchors and imprints its future. I am honored to become part of charting that future and to take the lead in securing both the legacy and business of this fierce, storied American institution," D’Onofrio said in a statement shared by the publication.
“The Post has an essential journalistic mission and an extraordinary opportunity. Each and every day, our readers give us a roadmap to success. The data tells us what is valuable and where to focus,” Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, said in a statement addressing the leadership change.
Bezos, who acquired the publication in 2013, said the current leadership at the publication is ready to lead it "into an exciting and thriving next chapter."
In a Feb. 4 statement addressing the cuts across the publication, The Washington Post's executive editor Matthew Murray said digital platforms that once helped the publication are now in decline.
"Our organic search has fallen by nearly half in the last three years. And we are still in the early days of AI-generated content, which is drastically reshaping user experiences and expectations," Murray said.
Murray said video production components at the publication had also failed to keep up with changing consumer trends. He also said the publication's overall output of daily stories had also fallen significantly over the past five years.
"And even as we produce much excellent work, we too often write from one perspective, for one slice of the audience," Murray added.
From The Epoch Times