Jeff Bezos’s Washington Post in leadership turmoil

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is facing significant challenges in his efforts to revitalize The Washington Post, a publication he acquired in 2013. Recently appointed editor Robert Winnett decided not to take the job on Friday.

The major setback came as past controversies about Winnett and Wa Po CEO Will Lewis’s journalism methods came to light.

What are they?
Winnett’s journalistic achievements in the UK, for example, when he exposed the parliamentary expenses scandal, are viewed differently in the US due to the methods used, including paying for information.

The ethical discrepancy has led to discomfort among Post staff and public criticism. Additionally, scrutiny of Lewis’s past involvement in the phone-hacking scandal has further eroded confidence in his leadership.

Several employees, including Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, are openly calling out for Lewis to step down.

Addressing the escalation, Bezos issued a brief memo from his vacation this week, assuring the staff of upholding Wa Po’s high standards. However, with Winnett out of the picture, Bezos must quickly find an alternative strategy to stabilize and rejuvenate the struggling publication, which has lost half its readers since 2020.

CEO Lewis recently told employees that the publication lost over $1 million a week in 2023.