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A One-Year Lewising Streak

After a full trip around the sun, the cautious optimism that greeted The Washington Post publisher Will Lewis has evolved into absolute revulsion.

Author

Oliver Darcy
January 06, 2025

Washington Post publisher Will Lewis. (Status illustration/Washington Post)

A little more than a year ago, Will Lewis formally took the helm as chief executive and publisher of The Washington Post. The newspaper that Lewis inherited was far from being in good shape. It had just lost $77 million the year before and its audience had slipped considerably since the highs of the Donald Trump days. Getting the house in order would certainly be no easy task.

Yet, The Post was by no means in absolute tatters, either. Its brand ID remained strong and it boasted a stable of high-caliber reporters whose stories often drove the news cycle. In other words, the foundation to build upon was there. Moreover, then-interim chief executive Patty Stonesifer had largely stabilized the ship after Fred Ryan's rocky tenure as chief executive. And people inside the storied institution genuinely believed it would succeed with a publisher who could furnish it with a solid business strategy and provide a dose of inspirational leadership. They wanted to do their part to help make a prosperous Post a reality.

A year later, however, and The Post is languishing in plain sight. The newspaper's reputation has suffered brutal blows amid editorial interference from owner Jeff Bezos and top management, its finances are in such poor shape that painful layoffs will once again be necessary, its star reporters are rushing for the exits at a whirlwind speed, and morale amongst staffers trapped inside the building keeps hitting new lows.

After a full trip around the sun, the cautious optimism that greeted Lewis as he strolled into The Post's K Street headquarters has evolved into nothing short of absolute revulsion for the embattled publisher. Staffers are…

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