<\/p>\n
Will Lewis, the embattled publisher and CEO of The Washington Post<\/em>, abruptly resigned Saturday evening, ending a tumultuous two-year tenure just days after presiding over one of the largest newsroom staff reductions in the publication\u2019s history. Will Lewis, the embattled publisher and CEO of The Washington Post, abruptly resigned Saturday evening, ending a tumultuous two-year tenure just days after presiding over one of the largest newsroom staff reductions in the publication\u2019s history. His departure was announced in a brief, two-paragraph internal email to staff that lacked a subject line. In the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21231","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-publishing-news"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/lap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/lap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/lap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/lap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/lap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21231"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/lap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21233,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/lap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21231\/revisions\/21233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/lap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/lap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/lap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/lap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nHis departure was announced in a brief, two-paragraph internal email to staff that lacked a subject line. In the note, Lewis characterized his time at the paper as “two years of transformation” and stated that “now is the right time for me to step aside.” He expressed gratitude toward the paper\u2019s owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, but notably did not offer a farewell to the journalists he led.
\nThe resignation follows a week of severe internal upheaval. On Wednesday, the Post<\/em> announced it was laying off approximately 300 employees, roughly one-third of its total workforce. The cuts decimated the paper\u2019s sports department, book coverage, and local and international bureaus, leaving the storied institution in a state of shock.
\nLewis faced intense criticism for his handling of the layoffs. He was reportedly absent from the mandatory Zoom call where the job cuts were announced, a move that many staffers viewed as a failure of leadership. Tensions escalated further when Lewis was photographed on a red carpet at a Super Bowl-related event in San Francisco just 24 hours after the layoffs, a juxtaposition that many current and former employees described as “tone-deaf” and “insulting.”
\nSince joining the Post<\/em> in early 2024 from the Murdoch-owned Dow Jones, Lewis struggled to find his footing. His tenure was marked by financial struggles, including annual losses nearing $100 million, and a public clash with former executive editor Sally Buzbee, who resigned in June 2024. Lewis also faced persistent questions regarding his past role at British tabloids during a phone-hacking scandal, an issue he repeatedly declined to address.
\nThe Washington Post Guild, the union representing the paper\u2019s staff, celebrated the news of his exit, calling it “long overdue” and accusing Lewis of the “attempted destruction” of the institution.
\nJeff Bezos, who has remained largely silent during the recent turmoil, released a statement following the resignation but did not mention Lewis by name. Instead, he praised the paper’s “essential journalistic mission” and named Chief Financial Officer Jeff D\u2019Onofrio as the acting publisher and CEO. D’Onofrio, who joined the Post<\/em> last June, will oversee the organization as it attempts to stabilize under its new, significantly reduced footprint.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"