New Washington Post editor Robert Winnett won't take job: NPR

Approached by the crisis, Washington Post Editor-in-Chief Will Lewis' choice to be its editor-in-chief, Robert Winnett, has stepped down from the job as Lewis looks to save his own tenure at the paper.

Lewis said he would begin a process to appoint a replacement — steps he did not take to announce his old friend Winnett for the job less than three weeks ago. Both men's ethical records have come under scrutiny in recent days.

Lewis worked with Winnett in the Sunday timesa Britain in the early 2000s. After Lewis was named the youngest editor of the Daily Telegraph's story, Winnett hired there. The two men, both British, worked hand in hand and won praise in the UK for their firsts.

However NPRthe News from New York i the mail have reported on a parade of episodes involving both men in conduct that would be prohibited by codes of professional ethics in major American media outlets, including the publication.

Incidents include paying a six-figure sum to get a major scoop; planting a junior reporter on a government job to obtain secret and even classified documents; and trusting a private investigator who used subterfuge to secure people's confidential records and documents. The investigator was later arrested.

Neither Winnett nor Lewis have responded to requests from reporters, including the Publication — to comment on these episodes. The publication had set up a dedicated team to report on the two men under Cameron Barr, a retired senior editor at the paper.

“We are saddened to share with you that Robert Winnett has retired as editor of the Washington Post,” Lewis wrote in a message to publication writing on Friday. “Rob has my utmost respect and is an incredibly talented editor and reporter.”

Washington Post Executive director and editor Will Lewis (shown here) worked with Robert Winnett on the Sunday timesa Britain in the early 2000s.

Carlotta Cardana/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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Carlotta Cardana/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Winnett is currently deputy editor of the Telegraph Media Group in the UK, where he will remain. “He's a talented guy and his loss is our gain.” telegraph editor Chris Evans said in a note.

The move does not resolve the state of Lewis, which is also struggling with accusations in the UK that it helped protect Rupert Murdoch's tabloid executives after a massive hacking scandal years ago. Lewis has been named in court documents filed by lawyers for Prince Harry and other victims.

I wrote about those accusations in December, just before Lewis started at the publication. He had pressured me not to publish the story, and even offered me an exclusive interview if I dropped it. He also tried to discourage the publication from coverage.

A distrustful editorial

Journalists across the paper have told NPR they are outraged, saying the two men's actions, while illustrative of the fiercely competitive world of British newspapers, violate principles held dear in the British press. publication.

A very appreciated one publication Writer and associate editor David Maraniss recently expressed his displeasure in a Facebook post. He claimed that the scandal that erupted this spring surrounding Lewis and Winnett is worse than the revelation that junior Janet Cooke created a Pulitzer Prize-winning account. publication journalist fueled by her editors' hunger to get a story.

“Today's problems are many orders of magnitude more serious,” Maraniss wrote on a Facebook page publication personal “The staff is rightly and fearlessly investigating and questioning the actions of their editor and alleged next editor, whose refusal to answer all questions is inexcusable and unacceptable.”

“The body,” Maraniss wrote, “is rejecting the transfusion.” Another retired Pulitzer winner, Scott Higham, weighed in on Maraniss's charge that Lewis should resign.

Winnett's brief association with the publication it even got off to a bad start. Lewis abruptly revealed Winnett's appointment on a Sunday night earlier this month, apparently to rule him out. The New York Times.

It coincided with the expulsion of the publicationthen-executive editor Sally Buzbee. She had refused to accept a reduced role assigned to foster new forms of journalism, new products and new revenue for the newspaper.

Winnett was absent and his name was barely mentioned in a contentious meeting with a stunned newsroom the next day. He was due to start the role after the November election. Winnett never set foot in a Washington newsroom as an editor.

Lewis had asked earlier Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Matt Murray will run the newsroom until Winnett takes over, then permanently take over the job Buzbee had turned down. Murray has since been seen as a calming force, they say publication journalists

Murray also has close ties to Lewis. When the latter was editor of the Wall Street Journalpromoted Murray to the top job there in 2014. Lewis has appointed other close associates to top jobs at the publicationof the corporate hierarchy in his five months since becoming chief executive, including chief growth officer, chief strategy officer and new hires as chief of staff and personal director of communications.

However, within weeks of that announcement, it became increasingly clear that Winnett's choice for the role of permanent editor of the newsroom was unsustainable.

A message from Jeff Bezos

publication Owner Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, chose Lewis to help turn around the newspaper's financial performance. The company lost more than $100 million in 2022 and $77 million last year. Its digital audience fell by 50% since 2020.

Bezos issued a statement earlier this week to reassure staff. “I know you've already heard Will,” Bezos wrote publication employees on Tuesday, “but I also wanted to weigh in directly: Journalistic standards and ethics at The Post will not change.”

He made no reference to Winnett. In less than a week, Lewis's friend who was to run the newspaper's news in the future was history. Lewis's own fate at the paper rests in the hands of its owner. Bezos' statement has been interpreted in a myriad of directions, as it acknowledged Lewis' role but made no commitment about the future.