The Washington Post’s executive editor Sally Buzbee is stepping down after three years leading the outlet during a bleak time for journalism, the Post announced Sunday evening. The newsroom is being restructured, with Matt Murray taking over until the 2024 presidential election and Robert Winnett taking the baton afterward.
The move comes just over a week after the paper announced it lost $77 million in the past year and planned to expand the use of artificial intelligence throughout its operations. The site’s traffic has also been cut in half since its 2020 high, driven by interest around COVID-19 and the 2020 presidential election, as publishers across the industry have struggled to retain readers.
The Post’s multi-part restructuring includes Murray, formerly editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal for 29 years, immediately moving into Buzbee’s executive editor position and leading the 1,300-person newsroom until this November’s election. Following that, a new editor role is being created and will be held by Robert Winnett, currently deputy editor of the Telegraph Media Group. According to the Post, he will be responsible for “overseeing our core coverage areas, including politics, investigations, business, technology, sports and features” and will transition into the role in the runup to the election.
Meanwhile, Murray will shift to lead a newly announced audience-focused division on Nov. 6, which the Post states will focus on “better serving audiences who want to consume and pay for news differently from traditional offerings.” This group is described by the Post as a “third newsroom,” with service and social media journalism run outside of the paper’s traditional core news operation, set to launch by the third quarter this year.
“The aim is to give the millions of Americans — who feel traditional news is not for them but still want to be kept informed — compelling, exciting and accurate news where they are and in the style that they want,” a statement from the Post explains.
It’s unclear how much of this new division will be driven by the use of artificial intelligence, but its release noted it follows the announcement of the paper’s “Build It” plan that will bring more video, increased use of AI-assisted journalism and new flexible payment options for supporting the Post’s work. Publisher and CEO Will Lewis told Post staff last month that the outlet planned to aggressively implement artificial intelligence.
“The way I see us operate is we have A.I. everywhere,” Post chief technology officer Vineet Khosla told staff at the time. “We have A.I. in our newsroom; we have A.I. with our consumers; we have A.I. in the business… Start thinking of it as a copilot.”
While the new division will clearly be aimed at broader audience growth, the Post notes that its core news division will be focused on growing its subscribers and building what it describes as “a new suite of professional products,” offering Pro, Plus and Membership options for audiences.
“By creating three, strong, journalism functions — Core, Service/Social and Opinions — we are taking a definitive step away from the ‘one size fits all’ approach and moving towards meeting our audiences where they are,” Lewis said in a statement.
Murray, Winnett and Editorial Page Editor David Shipley of its Opinions Newsroom will all report directly to Lewis.
Buzbee joined the Post in 2021, with the paper crediting her in a statement with “leading the newsroom through the turbulence of the pandemic and expanding its service journalism.” Under Buzbee, the paper won awards including a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting and introduced its Climate and Well+Being verticals.
“Sally is an incredible leader and a supremely talented media executive who will be sorely missed. I wish her all the best going forward,” Lewis said in a statement.
The outlet touted incoming executive editor Murray’s record of doubling digital traffic and subscriptions at the Post, as well as overseeing record growth in both video and audio audiences.
“I’m deeply honored to join such a storied news institution with its long, rich history of memorable and impactful journalism and want to thank Sally for her great leadership,” the future leader of the Post’s “third newsroom” said in a statement. “I am excited by Will and Jeff’s vision for The Post’s next era of growth and reinvention and can’t wait to get started.”
The Post also noted that Winnett has what it described as “an excellent track record in investigative reporting, delivering scoops and leading significant newsroom transformations.” He’s run news operations at Telegraph Media since 2013.
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