WASHINGTON: Washington Post Publisher and Chief Executive Officer Will Lewis is stepping down from his role, the newspaper announced on Saturday, just days after carrying out sweeping layoffs across the organisation.
In a message to staff, Lewis said he had taken “difficult decisions” during his tenure to secure the newspaper’s long-term sustainability and ensure it could continue delivering high-quality, nonpartisan journalism to millions of readers.
Lewis, a former Dow Jones chief executive and publisher of The Wall Street Journal, was appointed to lead The Washington Post in 2023, succeeding Fred Ryan, who had served as publisher and CEO for nearly a decade. His appointment came at a time when the newspaper was grappling with significant financial losses.
The Post said Chief Financial Officer Jeff D’Onofrio will assume the role of acting publisher and CEO. D’Onofrio joined the newspaper last year after holding senior positions at major technology companies, including Google and Yahoo.
In an email to staff, D’Onofrio said customer data would play a central role in shaping the newspaper’s strategy and strengthening its ability to deliver value to audiences.
Unions representing Post employees welcomed Lewis’s departure, calling it overdue. The Washington Post Guild accused him of undermining the institution and urged owner Jeff Bezos to reverse the layoffs or consider selling the newspaper to an investor willing to support its future.
Bezos, who acquired The Washington Post in 2013, described the leadership transition as an opportunity for renewal, reaffirming the paper’s core journalistic mission and its potential for growth.
Lewis’s exit comes shortly after the newspaper cut around one-third of its workforce in layoffs that affected all departments. He faced criticism for his absence during the process, with former executive editor Marty Baron describing the period as among the darkest in the newspaper’s history.
During his tenure, Lewis oversaw multiple rounds of staff reductions and navigated a sharp decline in subscribers following changes in the paper’s editorial direction, including its decision to stop endorsing U.S. presidential candidates and shift its opinion section toward a more libertarian orientation.
His leadership was also marked by internal controversies, including the departure of executive editor Sally Buzbee after a disagreement in 2024 and criticism over his attempt to recruit British journalist Robert Winnett, who had been linked to a phone-hacking scandal.
Meanwhile, one of Lewis’s flagship initiatives — the creation of a “third newsroom” — failed to materialise. Matt Murray, former Wall Street Journal editor, was later appointed as Buzbee’s permanent successor, while Buzbee now serves as Reuters’ U.S. and Canada news editor.
