The Washington Post, a well-known newspaper, found itself in a difficult situation on Monday after its executive editor left suddenly and a new restructuring plan was announced. The plan aims to stop the newspaper from losing readers, which has been happening over the past few years.
On Monday, the Post’s publisher, Will Lewis, and Matt Murray, a former Wall Street Journal editor who is temporarily replacing Sally Buzbee, met with reporters and editors to explain the changes that were announced in an email the night before.
The plan involves dividing the newsroom into three separate sections, each with its own manager reporting to Lewis. One section will focus on the Post’s main news reporting, another will handle opinion pieces, and the third will work on attracting new readers through creative use of social media, video, artificial intelligence, and sales.
Even though Murray is temporarily taking over for Buzbee through the November presidential election, the long-term plan does not include an executive editor who oversees the entire newsroom. Buzbee reportedly disagreed with the plan and decided to leave rather than be in charge of one of the sections.
Paul Farhi, a recently retired media reporter at the Post, said the changes surprised many people, but it shows that Will Lewis is working with a sense of urgency to address the newspaper’s problems. Like most news organizations, the Post has been losing readers, especially after a surge in readership during the Trump administration.
Margaret Sullivan, a former Post columnist and current executive director at the Columbia Journalism School, noted that even though the Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos, is very wealthy, billionaires generally don’t like to lose money. The Post reportedly lost $77 million last year.
Lewis told staff members that he is interested in growth, not managing decline, and bluntly stated that people are not reading their work, so decisive action is needed.
The new section designed to attract new customers, which the Post called a “third newsroom,” is somewhat mysterious. While the Post used to have its digital products team in a separate building, in recent years, it has integrated digital and social media into the regular newsroom, like many other organizations. It’s unclear how the new structure will work, and there will likely be changes as it is implemented.
There are concerns that dividing the newsroom into three parts could lead to fragmentation of the Post’s overall news report and hinder collaboration. Some staff members also expressed concern about three men, all new to the newspaper and two of them British-born, being in charge at a crucial time.
Lewis was questioned about his commitment to diversity after the departure of the first woman to be the editor in charge of the Post. He said he is committed to diversity and that it will be evident going forward.
The Post will be experimenting with different pay tiers for digital subscriptions, allowing people to subscribe to specific topics or stories instead of the entire package. Lewis has talked about finding ways to reach millions of Americans who want to stay informed but don’t feel that traditional news products serve their needs.
However, efforts to make organizations like the Post and the New York Times more attractive to subscribers may contribute to the challenges facing local news. As these newspapers seek more national and international customers, they are less likely to invest in covering local news.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.