The Washington Post just experienced week that will live in infamy
The week’s upheaval ended with CEO Will Lewis stepping aside after being missing in action as the newsroom was cut
What a bizarre week at The Washington Post. Bizarre and puzzling and heartbreaking — not necessarily in that order.
It started last Wednesday with massive layoffs in what former editor Marty Baron called one of the “darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations.” Another former star reporter, Ashley Parker, called it a murder.
The week ended in startling fashion on Saturday when publisher and CEO Will Lewis abruptly resigned in a short (less than 100 words) note to staff. He said it was the “right time” to step away. He thanked Post owner Jeff Bezos, although he did not bother to mention any journalist by name or even the staff as an entity. And he said that during his two-year tenure, “difficult decisions have been taken in order to ensure the sustainable future of the Post.”
Thus ended what will go down as one of the most controversial and blundering executive stints in modern media history.
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