{"id":2260599,"date":"2024-06-05T15:52:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-05T19:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-chaos-in-wapo-newsroom-as-executive-editor-leaves-i-cant-sugarcoat-it-anymore\/"},"modified":"2024-06-05T15:57:02","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T19:57:02","slug":"report-chaos-in-wapo-newsroom-as-executive-editor-leaves-i-cant-sugarcoat-it-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-chaos-in-wapo-newsroom-as-executive-editor-leaves-i-cant-sugarcoat-it-anymore\/","title":{"rendered":"Article: Turmoil Strikes WaPo Newsroom as Executive Editor Departs: Raw Truth Revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Freport-chaos-in-wapo-newsroom-as-executive-editor-leaves-i-cant-sugarcoat-it-anymore%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2260599&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Summary: \u2062An article by C. Douglas Golden on June 5, 2024,\u200d explores The Washington \u200bPost&#8217;s challenges since adopting the slogan &#8220;Democracy Dies in Darkness&#8221; in February 2017. The\u2063 departure\u2062 of\u200b the executive editor amid financial struggles and restructuring efforts raises questions about the future direction and diversity issues within the newsroom. Changes are being made to address declining readership and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mike-lindell-on-dominion-lawsuit-what-are-you-hiding\/\" title=\"Mike Lindell on Dominion Lawsuit: What Are You Hiding?\">financial losses<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<header> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/commentary\/\">  Commentary <\/a>   <span> <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/cillianzeal\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<p> <span>   By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/cillianzeal\/%20\"><span>C. Douglas Golden<\/span><\/a> <\/span> <span>   June 5, 2024 at 9:56am <\/span> <\/span>  <\/header>\n<section>\n<p>Is it darkness yet?<\/p>\n<p>I ask that seemingly ungrammatical question because, for years, The Washington Post has assured us that \u201cDemocracy Dies in Darkness.\u201d That slogan was adopted in <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20170224005642\/https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/news-trend-watch\/democracy-dies-in-darkness-20170222\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">February 2017<\/a>, just one month after Donald Trump took office as America\u2019s 45th president. No coincidence or anything.<\/p>\n<p>Democracy has not died in the intervening years, but things have indeed gotten very dark around the Post\u2019s newsroom. Deprived of the outsized importance the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/pathetic-wapo-covers-biden-publishing-story-saying-cocaine-wh-goes-way-back-fdr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">capital\u2019s paper of record<\/a> was lent by #TheResistance during the Trump years, the paper was shedding readers and bleeding money at an alarming rate \u2014 so bad, in fact, that Post rival <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/07\/22\/business\/media\/jeff-bezos-washington-post.html?searchResultPosition=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The New York Times<\/a> did an eye-opening piece about the WaPo\u2019s finances last July, estimating that the paper might lose $100 million in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>To put that into perspective, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/jeff-bezos-washington-post-set-lose-100-million-year-40-250-million-paid-decade-ago-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">that yearly loss would be 40 percent<\/a> of the $250 million Amazon impresario Jeff Bezos paid for the Post back in 2013.<\/p>\n<p>Things have not gotten smoother in the Post\u2019s newsroom since that piece shed a light on the internal workings of the \u201cDemocracy Dies in Darkness\u201d crowd, and things have gotten very dark indeed \u2014 so dark that the paper\u2019s publisher more or less forced out the executive editor over the weekend and then sparred with the paper\u2019s reporters in the aftermath, telling them he could no longer \u201csugarcoat\u201d the paper\u2019s declining readership and earnings.<\/p>\n<p>According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/story\/washington-post-shakeup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vanity Fair<\/a> report, Washington Post publisher Will Lewis had a testy meeting Monday morning with Post staff after executive editor Sally Buzbee left on Sunday. It\u2019s unclear whether or not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/washington-posts-top-boss-leaving-paper-reagan-foundation-job\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Buzbee<\/a> decided to leave before she was fired or was fired and given the option of making it look like it was voluntary, but what was clear from Charlotte Klein\u2019s piece is that she was on her way out one way or another.<\/p>\n<p>Per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/03\/business\/media\/washington-post-sally-buzbee-exit.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The New York Times<\/a>, Buzbee reportedly told her colleagues during a Sunday call that Lewis was attempting an aggressive turnaround for the paper, and while she \u201cwould have preferred to stay to help us get through this period \u2026 it just got to the point where it wasn\u2019t possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lewis\u2019 approach is to diversify into three newsrooms \u2014 one for news, one for opinion, and a \u201cthird newsroom\u201d which is focused on \u201cservice and social media journalism\u201d and targets people who aren\u2019t typically in the habit of consuming news via an outlet like the Post, according to Vanity Fair.<\/p>\n<p>Whether or not this is a winnable strategy for the Post, it\u2019s clear <em>something<\/em> needs to be done. Yet, from the Vanity Fair account of Lewis\u2019 meeting with the newsroom, the identity politics contingent among the WaPo rank-and-file didn\u2019t seem to get the urgency of the moment, leading to chaos at a Monday meeting following Buzbee\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n<div id=\"firefly-poll-container\">\n<p>Do you read The Washington Post?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Take one unnamed reporter, who complained about the number of Caucasian males the British Lewis has brought in to lead the turnaround.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone was pretty shocked with your email last night,\u201d the reporter said, adding, \u201cThe most cynical interpretation sort of feels like you chose two of your buddies to come in and help run the Post, and we now have four <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dallas-democrat-mayor-rips-matthew-dowd-over-remarks-on-ending-campaign-democrats-have-racism-problem\/\" title=\"Dallas Democrat Mayor Rips Matthew Dowd Over Remarks On Ending Campaign: Democrats Have Racism Problem\">white men running<\/a> three newsrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Replacing Buzbee will be interim executive editor Matt Murray, previously with The Wall Street Journal and, yes, a white dude. As for the short notice, Lewis said that the news of Buzbee\u2019s departure \u201cbegan to leak out, which is why we had to scramble last night\u201d to get ahead of it. (Klein noted that the Times was working on a story about Buzbee\u2019s resignation and got their story up before the Post posted a message about her \u201cresignation.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p>Lewis is supposedly a devotee to the concept of diversity, which he admits is \u201cnot great\u201d at the top ranks of the newsroom. However, it\u2019s funny how a meritocracy reasserts itself when an institution finds itself in dire straits.<\/p>\n<p>When one reporter asked Lewis if \u201cany women or people of color were interviewed and seriously considered for either of these positions\u201d \u2014 which prompted applause from the gathered reporters \u2014 he said that the search to replace Buzbee \u201cwas an iterative, messy process, which I don\u2019t want to go into the details of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wapo-tries-pitting-donald-melania-completely-misses-1-huge-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WaPo<\/a> reporters did want details, which led to some uncomfortable truths from Lewis.<\/p>\n<p>When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wapo-reporter-fire-response-gisele-fetterman-fleeing-country-husband-suffers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one reporter<\/a> asked Lewis if he was purposely bringing in people from outside the Post to transform the culture there, he was blunt: \u201cWe are losing large amounts of money. Your audience has halved in recent years. People are not reading your stuff. I can\u2019t sugarcoat it anymore. So I\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As for the \u201cthird newsroom\u201d concept, one reporter allegedly asked this on-the-nose question: \u201cDon\u2019t 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\u2019s out at the center of the mission of the\u00a0Washington Post?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou haven\u2019t done it,\u201d Lewis shot back. \u201cI\u2019ve listened to the platitudes. Honestly, it\u2019s just not happening.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo we\u2019re just going to give up on \u2026 \u201d the reporter started.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, I want you to be inspired,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cIt\u2019s the most important thing: untapped audiences. If what I cause to happen is you all get it, great, but the game is up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m setting up a structure where I\u2019m not going to be guessing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Well, that\u2019s certainly one way to do it. And it\u2019s a way that didn\u2019t make the employees of a paper that\u2019s made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/woke-wapo-reporter-taylor-lorenz-obliterated-libs-tiktok-founder-blaming-violent-threats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Taylor Lorenz<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.curbed.com\/article\/taylor-lorenz-week-in-zillow-saves.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">homeowner<\/a> happy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact that Will Lewis keeps going to his network rather than plucking Washington Post leadership implies that he finds everyone lacking, and I think that\u2019s kind of the most disturbing thing,\u201d one staffer told Vanity Fair.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think [Buzbee] deserved to go out this way,\u201d another said, adding that those on the paper \u201cdon\u2019t feel good about the fact that the first female executive editor of The Washington Post got a one paragraph goodbye note at 8:30 p.m. on a Sunday, and that she\u2019s being replaced by more white men we don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As opposed to what? The \u201cdiverse\u201d newsroom that was hemorrhaging money like it had taken a fusillade of .50 caliber bullets in its bank account? This is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/facebooks-former-diversity-chief-sentenced-prison-multimillion-dollar-scam\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">kind of piffle<\/a> that only works when you\u2019re <em>making<\/em> cash, not bleeding it.<\/p>\n<p>The Post has long since ceased to function as anything more than a charity cause of Jeff Bezos, and Bezos is reportedly getting antsy. The old days of DEI hires are over, and people who will turn around the paper are back into fashion.<\/p>\n<p>As it stands now, however, the paper is pretty close to darkness. Is democracy dying? Well, it\u2019s worth noting that, just three days before Buzbee left the paper, the de facto leader of America\u2019s political opposition was convicted on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/stephanopoulos-goes-crazy-trump-attorney-points-obvious-manhattan-verdict\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">34 flimsy felony counts<\/a> in a Manhattan courtroom. The irony feels almost a little <em>too<\/em> perfect.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p><b><i>A Note from Our Deputy Managing Editor:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span>\u201cWe don\u2019t even know if an election will be held in 2024.\u201d Those 12 words have been stuck in my head since I first read them. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Former Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn recently made that comment to Floyd Brown, founder of The Western Journal. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>And if the leftists and the elites get their way, that\u2019s exactly what will happen \u2014 no real election, no real choice for the Electoral College, and no real say for the American people. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Western Journal is fighting to keep that from happening, but we can\u2019t do it alone.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We work tirelessly to expose the lying leftist media and the corrupt America-hating elites.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>But Big Tech\u2019s stranglehold is now so tight that <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>without help<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  from you, we will not be able to continue the fight. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The 2024 election is literally the most important election for every living American. We have to unite and fight for our country, otherwise we will lose it. And if we lose the America we love in 2024, we\u2019ll lose it for good. Can we <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>count on you<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  to help? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>With you we will be able to field journalists, do more investigative work, expose more corruption, and get desperately needed trStephen A. Smith Lights Up Analyst Over WNBA Delusion, Caitlin Clark Jealousy &#8211; &#8216;Who Talks About the WNBA?!&#8217;uth to millions of Americans. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We can do this only with your help. Please don\u2019t wait one minute.<\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>  Donate right now<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Thank you for reading,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Josh Manning<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Deputy Managing Editor<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>P.S. Please <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>stand with us<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  today.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"author-info-44670\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/cillianzeal\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<div>\n<p><label for=\"summary-tab-radio-44670\">Summary<\/label><label for=\"more-info-tab-radio-44670\">More<span> Biographical Information<\/span><\/label><label for=\"posts-tab-radio-44670\">Recent<span> Posts<\/span><\/label><label for=\"contact-tab-radio-44670\" onclick=\"if( typeof grecaptcha=='undefined' ) { let cap_s=document.createElement( 'script' ); cap_s.src='https:\/\/www.google.com\/recaptcha\/api.js?render=6LeJFcsUAAAAAPsIEqvB1EebWbZfqRUe6ebMpGy7'; document.body.appendChild( cap_s ); }\">Contact<\/label><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he&#8217;s written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>  C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he&#8217;s written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014. Aside from politics, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-biden-leaves-for-delaware-as-russians-prepare-to-take-kyiv\/\" title=\"Joe Biden Leaves for Delaware as Russians Prepare to Take Kyiv\">enjoys spending time<\/a> with his wife, literature (especially British comic novels and modern Japanese lit), indie rock, coffee, Formula One and football (of both American and world varieties). <\/p>\n<p>  Birthplace <\/p>\n<p>  Morristown, New Jersey <\/p>\n<p>  Education <\/p>\n<p>  Catholic University of America <\/p>\n<p>  Languages Spoken <\/p>\n<p>  English, Spanish <\/p>\n<p>  Topics of Expertise <\/p>\n<p>  American Politics, World Politics, Culture <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Opinion by C. Douglas Golden on June 5, 2024, at 9:56am: As darkness looms, The Washington Post&#8217;s slogan &#8220;Democracy Dies in Darkness&#8221; resonates. Adopted in February 2017, shortly after Donald Trump\u2019s presidency began, its relevance echoes intensely<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":663,"featured_media":2260600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/The-Washington-Post.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2260599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/The-Washington-Post.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2260599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/663"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2260599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2260599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2260600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2260599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2260599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2260599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}