Much of this week has been spent looking back at the abrupt and somewhat surprising departure of Sally Buzbee as executive editor of The Washington Post. Buzbee was popular among staff, and that staff will now undergo more changes in the short- and long-term future.
The Post is planning to break its newsroom into three divisions, including a new service/social media division to go along with the traditional newsroom and the opinion section. In addition, Washington Post publisher and CEO Will Lewis is bringing in two of his former colleagues to oversee much of this “new,” build-it-better Post.
Matt Murray, a former editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, will replace Buzbee as executive editor through the November election. He then will transition over to this new division. At that point, Robert Winnett, who has run news operations at The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph, will take over the Post’s traditional newsroom.
That’s a whole lot of moving and shaking going on.
In a column for The Guardian US, former Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan weighed in on what appears to be a shaky transition to the Post’s new leadership.
Sullivan wrote, “I know my former colleagues to be top-flight and much of their journalism to be essential. They are also nimble and, in general, not resistant to change. They fully understand that we’re in a challenging new era. But they also are tough-minded journalists who demand to be treated with transparency and honesty and respect. Journalists don’t delude themselves that newsrooms are democracies; they know they don’t get a vote. But successful newsrooms aren’t dictatorships, either. If Lewis is going to be successful in his quest to make the Post soar again, he’ll need to have the journalists with him all the way. Right now, they’re not. And that means a course correction is in order.”
Lewis is tasked with turning around a newspaper that, reportedly, lost $77 million in the past years and has seen sharp declines in readers over the past four years.
Meanwhile, the Post’s Jeremy Barr, Karla Adam and Laura Wagner wrote about Murray and Winnett, the new Post leaders.
James V. Grimaldi, an investigative reporter for The Wall Street Journal (and former Post reporter), told the Post about Murray, saying, “He always had our back in investigations, and he was one of our biggest champions. He’s a smart, thoughtful, brilliant editor with superb judgment when it comes to making tough calls on important stories, and has impeccable ethics and standards.”
As far as Winnett, the Post wrote, “In interviews with several colleagues at the Telegraph, Winnett — known as ‘Rob’ — was described as a casual dresser with a cheeky smile, a sometimes shy character who nonetheless could be a ‘terrier’ on a story. Post employees ‘have nothing to be frightened of,’ said one journalist who has worked with Winnett. ‘Everyone will enjoy having him as a boss and see his qualities very quickly.’”
The British are coming
Columbia Journalism Review’s Jon Allsop writes about the Post changes and, in particular, the new leadership in “The Brits are coming. Again.”
Lewis and Winnett — who will ultimately be the two most powerful people at the Post (along with owner Jeff Bezos, of course) — are both British. It’ll be curious to see how two Brits run an American newspaper.
Allsop wrote, “It is certainly fair to question why the Post — with its very American, play-it-straight self-conception — will soon hand its core news product to a longtime editor at the Bible of British Conservatism (with a big C). It’s also fair to wonder how a Brit immersed in that country’s distinctive political culture will adapt to America’s, despite the superficial similarities between the two that culture warriors — including at the Telegraph — like to echo and invoke.”
Allsop, however, does point out that Winnett’s “career highlights, at least, point to respectable journalistic experience.”
Allsop added, “Foreign owners and executives should be judged, ultimately, on the same metrics as their American counterparts: things like how they treat their staff, the economic health of their newsrooms, and their diversity.”
Well, the diversity part is off to a rough start, seeing as how, come November, the Post’s owner, publisher and three heads of the newsroom will all be white males.
Ch-ch-changes
The Washington Post isn’t the only news outlet to have a shake-up at the top of its organizational chart this week. The Daily Beast now has a new editor-in-chief.
Hugh Dougherty, the deputy editor at the New York Post, will take over for Tracy Connor, who had led The Daily Beast since 2021. Dougherty, a native of Scotland, is the former executive editor for politics and features at The Daily Mail (U.S.). He also was a reporter and editor for The Evening Standard and an editor at The Sunday Telegraph.
The big move comes just a couple of months after former Disney/ABC executive Ben Sherwood and former Hearst executive Joanna Coles were put in charge after being granted a minority stake in the news site by owner Barry Diller.
Sherwood’s memo to staff said, “As you will see, Hugh’s smarts, judgment and commitment to excellence make him the perfect journalist and leader for our newsroom, especially as we seek to realize The Beast’s potential as an intelligent tabloid.”
Sherwood also wrote, “Hugh’s appointment signals the start of our transformation of the newsroom and underlying business as we confront the realities of the moment and seize the opportunities ahead.”
The memo didn’t mention Connor until the end, saying she was stepping down and adding, “We want to recognize Tracy’s leadership over the years and thank her for her dedication and countless contributions. We wish her the very best.”
TheWrap’s Natalie Korach wrote, “However, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation, ‘Staffers are losing their minds internally,’ adding that owner Barry Diller, ‘might have a coup d’état attempt of some sort on his hands here soon.’ Regardless, the individual acknowledged that ‘it became increasingly clear … that Tracy wasn’t the right leader for the moment. You needed someone with an eye for gross margin who could achieve profitability.’”
Out of line
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand had some tough but fair criticism of ESPN after Pat McAfee called WNBA player Caitlin Clark a “white bitch” on his show Monday. McAfee was actually defending Clark and talking about her importance in the WNBA, but, for a reason he keeps trying (unsuccessfully) to explain, referred to her in the way that he did. After the show, he apologized on X and said that he had apologized to Clark. (More on that in a moment.)
Technically, McAfee isn’t an ESPN employee. He owns his show. ESPN pays him to air it, and McAfee has creative control. But ESPN should not be able to hide behind that excuse.
Marchand wrote in his piece, “Let’s call it for what it is: If you went down the halls of Bristol on Monday and described anyone that way, ESPN’s HR department would remind you of every video on harassment you are required to watch. You would likely be suspended or worse.”
He added, “ESPN can hide behind the fact that McAfee is not an employee. It pays him in excess of $17 million per year but leases his show, with McAfee retaining creative control. McAfee pays all his people, including recurring freelancers, like Aaron Rodgers. But this was on ESPN’s air. The technicalities of the arrangement don’t change that.”
For the rest of the story …
McAfee did address the controversy on his show Tuesday. He said when he said “white bitch” to describe Clark he “legitimately meant it in a complimentary fashion.”
He said he had “no idea” that he had kicked a hornet’s nest until two-and-a-half hours later, when his show was over. He said after reading the reaction on social media that he felt like “the worst human on earth” for much of the day.
McAfee again suggested that his words were misunderstood, but he did say he was responsible for any of the misunderstanding. He added that he reached out to Clark through her WNBA team’s public relations staff. He said he got a message back from Clark saying “it was all good,” and that she appreciated McAfee reaching out.
He then addressed those who were bothered by his comments, saying he understood and that he had “learned a lot.”
Media tidbits
