**Washington Post Publisher and CEO Will Lewis Announces Departure After Tumultuous Tenure**
The Washington Post’s Publisher and Chief Executive, Will Lewis, announced on Saturday evening that he would be departing the paper after just two years at the helm. His tenure, intended as a period of transformation, was instead marked by controversy, crisis, and significant upheaval.
In his resignation note, Lewis described his time as “two years of transformation,” but many view his leadership as defined more by turbulence than by a clear, steady path forward. His departure comes on the heels of brutal job cuts that have sent shockwaves through the newsroom.
More than a third of the newsroom staff was laid off on Wednesday, a devastating blow following Lewis’ promises of radical innovation. Despite these promises, the paper struggled with annual financial losses in the tens of millions of dollars. At one point, losses surged to $100 million, as Lewis himself disclosed to staffers during a difficult all-hands meeting in June 2024—only five months into his leadership. That meeting would prove to be his last full-staff gathering.
During his tenure, Lewis was notably absent from key moments as the Post’s scope and journalistic ambitions underwent radical shifts and significant contractions. He played no visible role in announcing the layoffs during a mandatory Zoom call for the newsroom on Wednesday and did not publicly address the paper’s readers in the aftermath to ease their concerns.
Adding to the fallout, just a day after the layoffs were announced, Lewis was photographed walking a red carpet at a Super Bowl event in Northern California. This appearance only heightened the newsroom’s frustration and eroded trust in his leadership.
In recent weeks, the newsroom’s disenchantment reached a peak, prompting journalists to appeal directly to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who owns the paper. They pleaded for Bezos to intervene—to spare the paper from further cuts and help secure financial stability. As of now, Bezos has not responded to these urgent appeals.
In the wake of Lewis’ departure, the paper’s Chief Financial Officer, Jeff D’Onofrio, will serve as acting CEO while The Washington Post begins the search for new leadership.
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/07/nx-s1-5705413/washington-post-ceo-resigns-will-lewis