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The Washington Post said connected Saturday (February 7, 2026) its CEO and publisher, Will Lewis, was leaving effectual immediately, conscionable days aft the storied paper owned by billionaire Amazon laminitis Jeff Bezos made drastic occupation cuts that angered readers.
Though newspapers crossed the United States person been facing brutal manufacture headwinds, Mr. Lewis’s absorption of the outlet was sharply criticised by subscribers and employees alike during his two-year tenure arsenic helium tried to reverse fiscal losses astatine the daily.
Mr Lewis, who is English, has been replaced by Jeff D’Onofrio, a erstwhile CEO of the societal media level Tumblr, who joined the Post arsenic main fiscal serviceman past year, the insubstantial announced.
In an email to unit shared connected societal media by 1 of the newspaper’s reporters, Mr. Lewis said it was “the close clip for maine to measurement aside.”
A connection from the Post said lone that Mr. D’Onofrio was succeeding Mr. Lewis “effective immediately.”
Hundreds of Post journalists — including astir of its overseas, section and sports unit — were fto spell successful the sweeping cuts announced connected Tuesday (February 3, 2026).
The Post did not disclose the fig of jobs being eliminated, but The New York Times reported that astir 300 of its 800 journalists were laid off.
The paper’s full Middle East roster was fto spell arsenic was its Kyiv-based Ukraine analogous arsenic the warfare with Russia grinds on.
Sports, graphics and section quality departments were sharply scaled backmost and the paper’s regular podcast, Post Reports, was suspended, section media reported.
Hundreds turned retired connected Thursday (February 5, 2026) astatine a protestation successful beforehand of the paper’s office successful downtown Washington.
Editorial interference
Newspapers crossed the state person cratered nether falling revenues and subscriptions arsenic they vie for eyeballs with societal media, and arsenic net gross pales successful examination to what people advertizing erstwhile commanded.
However, nationalist papers similar The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal person managed to upwind the tempest and travel retired financially coagulated — thing the Post, adjacent with a billionaire backer, has failed to do.
In Mr. Lewis’s enactment to staff, shared connected X by White House bureau main Matt Viser, Mr. Lewis said “difficult decisions person been taken” during his tenure “in bid to guarantee the sustainable aboriginal of The Post truthful it tin for galore years up people high-quality nonpartisan news.”
Protesters extracurricular of the Washington Post bureau show pursuing a wide layoffon February 5, 2026 | Photo Credit: AP
Mr. Bezos, 1 of the world’s richest people, and Mr. Lewis person travel nether scrutiny for intervening straight successful the paper’s editorial processes.
Mr. Bezos reined successful the newspaper’s liberal-leaning editorial leafage and blocked an endorsement of Democratic statesmanlike campaigner Kamala Harris days earlier the 2024 predetermination — breaking the alleged firewall of editorial independence.
He was wide seen arsenic bowing to Mr. Trump.
The Wall Street Journal reported past period that 250,000 integer subscribers near the Post aft it refrained from endorsing Ms. Harris, and the insubstantial mislaid astir $100 cardinal successful 2024 arsenic advertizing and subscription revenues fell.
Marty Baron, the Post’s enforcement exertion until 2021, said that the occupation cuts ranked “among the darkest days successful the past of 1 of the world’s top quality organisations.”
