tomder55
Jun 4, 2024, 03:59 AM
There was an abrupt exit by editor Sally Buzbee . The Compost tried to get on top of the story but the NY Slimes beat them to it .
Sally Buzbee, Washington Post Editor, to Leave Role - The New York Times (nytimes.com) (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/02/business/media/washington-post-sally-buzbee-step-down.html)
Matt Murray from WSJ is taking over.
The news came as a shock to the compliant press and the DEI crowd in the organization who began to question why there wasn't an interview process that was inclusive.
Responding to the staff CEO Will Lewis did not sugar coat the problem . Vanity Fair reported on the exchange.
At one point Lewis was asked whether he was intentionally bringing in people who come from a different culture than the Post. “We are losing large amounts of money. Your audience has halved in recent years. People are not reading your stuff. I can’t sugarcoat it anymore,” Lewis said. “So I’ve had to take decisive, urgent action to set us on a different path, sourcing talent that I have worked with that are the best of the best.”
He continued to take a blunt approach when asked about the “third newsroom,” specifically how it would be staffed. “I’ll be looking for people to put their hands up internally, but also sourcing talent externally,” said Lewis. (Of the “third newsroom,” Lewis said in Sunday’s memo, “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.”)
“Don’t we need our brilliant social journalists and service journalists as embedded in our core product to make sure that people are actually reading the thing that’s out at the center of the mission of the Washington Post?” one staffer asked, to which Lewis replied, “You haven’t done it. I’ve listened to the platitudes. Honestly, it’s just not happening.”
“So we’re just going to give up on—”
“No, I want you to be inspired,” Lewis said. “It’s the most important thing: untapped audiences. If what I cause to happen is you all get it, great, but the game is up,” he said. “I’m setting up a structure where I’m not going to be guessing.”
“I Can’t Sugarcoat It Anymore”: Will Lewis Bluntly Defends Washington Post Shake-Up | Vanity Fair (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/washington-post-shakeup)
Hey when you have decided that half of the country is not worthy then don't be surprised if half of the country turns you off. As Jonathan Turley commented
The decline of the Post has followed a familiar pattern. The editors and reporters simply wrote off half of their audience and became a publication for largely liberal and Democratic readers. In these difficult economic times with limited revenue sources, it is a lethal decision. Yet, for editors and reporters, it is still professionally beneficial to embrace advocacy journalism even if it is reducing the readership of your own newspaper.
“Let’s Not Sugarcoat it … People are Not Reading Your Stuff:” Publisher Drops Truth Bomb at Post – JONATHAN TURLEY (https://jonathanturley.org/2024/06/04/lets-not-sugarcoat-it-people-are-not-reading-your-stuff-post-reporters-outraged-after-publisher-drops-truth-bomb/)
Sally Buzbee, Washington Post Editor, to Leave Role - The New York Times (nytimes.com) (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/02/business/media/washington-post-sally-buzbee-step-down.html)
Matt Murray from WSJ is taking over.
The news came as a shock to the compliant press and the DEI crowd in the organization who began to question why there wasn't an interview process that was inclusive.
Responding to the staff CEO Will Lewis did not sugar coat the problem . Vanity Fair reported on the exchange.
At one point Lewis was asked whether he was intentionally bringing in people who come from a different culture than the Post. “We are losing large amounts of money. Your audience has halved in recent years. People are not reading your stuff. I can’t sugarcoat it anymore,” Lewis said. “So I’ve had to take decisive, urgent action to set us on a different path, sourcing talent that I have worked with that are the best of the best.”
He continued to take a blunt approach when asked about the “third newsroom,” specifically how it would be staffed. “I’ll be looking for people to put their hands up internally, but also sourcing talent externally,” said Lewis. (Of the “third newsroom,” Lewis said in Sunday’s memo, “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.”)
“Don’t we need our brilliant social journalists and service journalists as embedded in our core product to make sure that people are actually reading the thing that’s out at the center of the mission of the Washington Post?” one staffer asked, to which Lewis replied, “You haven’t done it. I’ve listened to the platitudes. Honestly, it’s just not happening.”
“So we’re just going to give up on—”
“No, I want you to be inspired,” Lewis said. “It’s the most important thing: untapped audiences. If what I cause to happen is you all get it, great, but the game is up,” he said. “I’m setting up a structure where I’m not going to be guessing.”
“I Can’t Sugarcoat It Anymore”: Will Lewis Bluntly Defends Washington Post Shake-Up | Vanity Fair (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/washington-post-shakeup)
Hey when you have decided that half of the country is not worthy then don't be surprised if half of the country turns you off. As Jonathan Turley commented
The decline of the Post has followed a familiar pattern. The editors and reporters simply wrote off half of their audience and became a publication for largely liberal and Democratic readers. In these difficult economic times with limited revenue sources, it is a lethal decision. Yet, for editors and reporters, it is still professionally beneficial to embrace advocacy journalism even if it is reducing the readership of your own newspaper.
“Let’s Not Sugarcoat it … People are Not Reading Your Stuff:” Publisher Drops Truth Bomb at Post – JONATHAN TURLEY (https://jonathanturley.org/2024/06/04/lets-not-sugarcoat-it-people-are-not-reading-your-stuff-post-reporters-outraged-after-publisher-drops-truth-bomb/)