Washington Post Executive Editor Sally Buzbee Steps Down from Role

Sally Buzbee, who had served as the executive editor for the Washington Post since 2021, stepped down from her position, according to a statement from the newspaper.

The newspaper revealed in a statement on Sunday that Buzbee would be replaced by Matt Murray, who had previously served as the editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal.

“The Washington Post today announced Sally Buzbee has stepped down as Executive Editor. Buzbee has been with The Washington Post since 2021, leading the newsroom through the turbulence of the pandemic and expanding its service journalism, including Climate and Well+Being,” the statement from the Washington Post said.

Murray will be serving as the new executive editor for the Washington Post until the 2024 presidential election occurs, after which time “Robert Winnett, Deputy Editor of The Telegraph Media Group, will take on the new role of Editor at The Washington Post,” according to the statement.

The Washington Post via Getty Images Executive Editor Sally Buzbee speaks after the paper was awarded the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service as employees of The Washington Post via Getty Images gather in the newsroom to watch the presentations on Monday May 09, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“I wish her all the best going forward,” Lewis added.

The statement from the newspaper added that the Washington Post is looking “to launch a new division of the newsroom dedicated to better serving audiences who want to consume and pay for news differently from traditional offerings”:

This third newsroom will be comprised of service and social media journalism and run separately from the core news operation. 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.

This new organizational structure follows The Washington Post’s recent announcement of its ‘Build It’ plan, which highlights the need to move away from the traditional one-size ffits-all approach and to create news for a broader range of readers and customers. This will focus more on video storytelling, embracing AI to help, and flexible payment methods. The new newsroom division will be operational by the third quarter of this year.

David Folkenflik, a media correspondent for NPR responded to the news of Buzbee’s departure in a post on X by sharing “thoughts, based on conversations with six people with knowledge of events, overlaid with a touch of analysis.”

“First: Will Lewis wanted to force out Sally Buzbee and bring a trusted pal to run the WaPo newsroom,” Folkenflik wrote. “He wanted to make his mark.”

Folkenflik wrote that “Buzbee didn’t want to give up her job for an ill-defined position,” adding that this presented a problem for Lewis, as he could not have his friend “a Brit with no US experience” in charge of the newsroom during a “heated presidential election cycle.”

“Enter Murray,” Folkenflik added.

Kelly Jane Torrance, an editor-at-large with the New York Post wrote in a post on X that there was “zero surprise” with this news.

“Journalism remains a very male-dominated industry-despite all the liberal virtue signaling,” Torrance added.

Before stepping down, Buzbee had served as the first female executive editor for the newspaper.