The paper’s scrapped marketing campaign was yet another setback for Will Lewis, whose tenure as Washington Post CEO ended on Saturday when the paper abruptly announced his departure.
As Semafor reported, Lewis arrived at the Post surrounded by cautious optimism. The paper’s previous CEO, Fred Ryan, had been a good steward during the first Trump presidency, but the newsroom’s confidence had begun to waver as the paper’s subscriptions and web traffic sagged once Trump left office. Lewis promised to help modernize the paper’s business.
But Bezos and Lewis burdened the paper with their own problems; Bezos’ decision to pivot the paper ideologically, seemingly without warning, alienated a substantial portion of its audience. Lewis’ shiftiness when it came to previous scandals from his time in the UK further undermined trust among Post staff. Lewis’ plans were vague — most notably a confusing “third newsroom” idea that never truly materialized.
While a new tagline wouldn’t have substantially changed many minds, the campaign itself highlighted the Post leadership’s inability to the think creatively. The paper’s new tagline was so unoriginal that another politics-focused news media company needing to rebrand had the same idea, but executed faster with more money.
Now, the Post has wasted two precious years. With the appointment of a new CEO and a vastly scaled back newsroom, the paper is hoping to turn the corner.
Interim CEO Jeff D’Onofrio sent a short memo Saturday that suggested the paper will be making a “renewed commitment to building a sustainable business.” Journalists who spent their careers defending the paper may not be heartened to learn that “consumer data will drive our decisions, sharpening our edge in delivering what is most valuable to our audiences.”
