The once prestigious Washington Post announced a major shakeup in its top editorial ranks on Sunday, with executive editor Sally Buzbee stepping down after just three years at the helm of the United States’ most prominent newspapers.
Buzbee, the first woman to serve as the Post‘s executive editor, will be replaced by Matt Murray, the former editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, in an interim role leading coverage through the 2024 presidential election.
Robert Winnett, currently the deputy editor of Britain’s Telegraph, will then take over as the Post‘s top editorial leader overseeing its core news operations as part of a broader restructuring.
No official reason was provided for Buzbee’s abrupt departure, which comes amid reported financial struggles at the newspaper that lost $77 million in 2022 according to new publisher Will Lewis.
The shakeup coincides with the Post announcing plans to create a new division dedicated to reaching audiences through different content formats and payment models beyond its traditional subscription offering.
Lewis, who replaced Fred Ryan as publisher late last year, has tapped his former colleagues from The Wall Street Journal and The Telegraph to fill the transitional leadership roles.
Murray will oversee the new department embracing “video storytelling” and leveraging AI starting in November. Winnett, who has led the Telegraph‘s news operations since 2013, will be responsible for the Post‘s “core coverage areas” like politics and investigations but will not carry the executive editor title.
Instead, the Post appears headed towards a tri-headed structure with Murray, Winnett, and editorial page editor David Shipley each reporting directly to Lewis as he aims to move the publication “away from the ‘one size fits all’ approach.”
The leadership upheaval comes at a pivotal period for the Post, which soared in prominence through its coverage of former President Donald Trump’s administration but has since shed subscribers and faced fiscal pressures emblematic of the news industry’s challenges.