A veteran of the UK’s Daily Telegraph is to become executive editor of the Washington Post, replacing Sally Buzbee, who is stepping down after three years at the top of one of the US’s most respected news brands.
Buzbee, the first woman to hold the post, will be initially replaced by the former Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Matt Murray, until this autumn’s presidential election. Robert Winnett, currently the deputy editor of the Telegraph Media Group, will then take over the role.
The changes have been instigated by Will Lewis, a former Telegraph editor and ex-publisher of the Wall Street Journal, who worked with Winnett and Murray at those publications respectively.
Lewis took charge as the Washington Post’s chief executive and publisher in January at a difficult time for the US news group.
After Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, bought the publication in 2013, the Washington Post enjoyed years of profitability and exploded in popularity during the Trump administration. However, last October it announced it would cut 240 jobs, citing “overly optimistic” projections for traffic, subscriptions and advertising.
The Post has bled subscribers, to the point where Lewis told employees last month that it lost $77m (£60m) last year.
Lewis worked closely with Winnett on the MPs’ expenses scandal during his 2005-10 editorship of the Telegraph.
The Telegraph paid about £110,000 for the documents that led to the run of exclusives in 2009 on the widespread misuse of parliamentary allowances, which sent shock waves through the British political establishment.
Winnett, who joined the Telegraph in 2007, became its political editor after working on the scoop and was made deputy editor 10 years ago.
He said in a statement: “After almost 17 years at the Telegraph, it has been an emotional decision to leave, as I am incredibly proud of all our journalism every day.”
The Telegraph editor, Chris Evans, called Winnett “the most tremendous journalist” and said the Washington Post had “made a fine choice in appointing him”.
When Winnett becomes editor in November, Murray will switch to being leader of a newly created third newsroom focusing on service and social media journalism.
Buzbee, a former top editor at the Associated Press, became the first woman to be executive editor of the Washington Post in May 2021, replacing Martin Baron.
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Lewis said in a statement: “Sally is an incredible leader and a supremely talented media executive who will be sorely missed. I wish her all the best going forward.”
No reason was given for her departure. She was not quoted in the release announcing her exit and did not immediately return a message from the Associated Press seeking comment.
There has been a recent influx of British executives taking an influential positions in the US media alongside veterans such as Anna Wintour, who is chief content officer and global editorial director at Vogue.
Emma Tucker, the former editor of the Sunday Times, is the editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, and took up her role in February 2023. Mark Thompson, the former BBC director general and chief executive of the New York Times, was announced last August as the new chief executive of CNN, tasked with reviving a US news giant beset by sagging ratings and profits.
Lewis has talked about creating a multi-tier subscription plan for the Post, similar to that in place at Politico. In an email to employees late on Sunday, Lewis said a new third division would begin operation later this year that will focus on more video storytelling, and embrace artificial intelligence and flexible payment methods.
Lewis said he had highlighted the need to “move away from the traditional one-size-fits-all approach in the news media industry and focus on creating news for a broader range of readers and customers”.
The Post won three Pulitzer prizes last month, including one in national reporting for a series on the impact of the AR-15 rifle.
The Associated Press contributed to this report