Washington Post CEO resigns amid backlash over sweeping job cuts
Hundreds turned out Thursday at a protest in front of the paper’s headquarters in downtown Washington.
Editorial interference
Newspapers across the country have cratered under falling revenues and subscriptions as they compete for eyeballs with social media, and as internet revenue pales in comparison to what print advertising once commanded.
However, national papers like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have managed to weather the storm and come out financially solid — something the Post, even with a billionaire backer, has failed to do.
In Lewis’s note to staff, shared on X by White House bureau chief Matt Viser, Lewis said “difficult decisions have been taken” during his tenure “in order to ensure the sustainable future of The Post so it can for many years ahead publish high-quality nonpartisan news.”
Bezos, one of the world’s richest people, was quoted in the Post‘s statement saying that the paper has “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.”
He and Lewis have come under scrutiny for intervening directly in the paper’s editorial processes.
Bezos reined in the newspaper’s liberal-leaning editorial page and blocked an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris days before the 2024 election — breaking the so-called firewall of editorial independence.
He was widely seen as bowing to Donald Trump, who went on to win the election.
The decision also apparently had financial consequences: The Wall Street Journal reported that 250,000 digital subscribers left the Post after it refrained from endorsing Harris, and the paper lost around $100 million in 2024 as advertising and subscription revenues fell.
As president, Trump has heaped direct pressure on journalists, launching multiple lawsuits against media organizations.
A withered Post, critics worry, will leave the country’s press corps less able to hold the government accountable.
Marty Baron, the Post‘s executive editor until 2021, said that the job cuts ranked “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations.”
