He Washington Post toannounced on Saturday the departure of its general director and publisher, Will Lewis, just a few days after the famous newspaper owned by the billionaire founder of amazon, Jeff Bezosmade drastic job cuts that caused outrage among readers.
Lewis’ management of the newspaper was harshly criticized by both subscribers and employees during his two years in office, in which he attempted to reverse the newspaper’s financial losses.
Lewis, who is British, was replaced by Jeff D’Onofrioformer CEO of social media platform Tumblr, who joined the Post last year as chief financial officer, the newspaper reported.
In an email addressed to staff and posted on social media by one of the newspaper’s journalists, Lewis states that it is “the right time” to take “a step aside.”
A Post statement simply stated that D’Onofrio was replacing Lewis “effective immediately.”
Hundreds of Post journalists, including most of its foreign, local and sports staff, were laid off in the newspaper’s widespread cuts announced this week.
The Post did not reveal the number of positions eliminated, but The New York Times reported that approximately 300 of its 800 journalists were laid off.
The entire staff was dispensed with Middle East of the newspaper, as well as its correspondent in Ukraine based in kyiv, despite the fact that the war with Russia is prolonged.
The sports, graphics and local news departments were drastically reduced and the newspaper’s daily podcast, Post Reportswas suspended, local media reported.
Hundreds of people gathered at a protest outside the newspaper’s headquarters in downtown Washington on Thursday.
The Washington Post is famous for the investigation that brought down President Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal and has won numerous Pulitzer Prizes.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that 250,000 digital subscribers abandoned the Post when its management refused to take sides ahead of the 2024 presidential election, won by Donald Trump.
Additionally, the newspaper lost around $100 million in 2024 due to declining advertising and subscription revenue.
