The Washington Post is launching a new digital newsroom that aims to reach consumers on non-traditional platforms like Twitter and Facebook, the organization said on Monday.
The newsroom — its third overall — will utilize artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to produce more visual-storytelling, the Post said. It will also offer “flexible payment methods” for consumers who want to support the Post’s new digital news offerings, though it didn’t offer any insight into how that will work.
The venture will be separate, but complementary, to the Post’s core newsroom, which is focused on creating print and video journalism in a traditional sense, distributed across the legacy newspaper format and the Washington Post website and apps.
“The move will also allow the core news division to focus on growing The Post subscriber base and building a new suite of professional products – Pro, Plus and Membership,” a Post spokesperson said in a statement.
The Post also announced its executive editor, Sally Buzbee, is resigning from the role after three years. Buzbee helped grow the Post’s digital memberships in the post-election season, guiding the newspaper out of the COVID-19 pandemic and helping to expand its service journalism.
“Sally is an incredible leader and a supremely talented media executive who will be sorely missed,” William Lewis, the CEO and Publisher of the Post, said in a statement. “I wish her all the best going forward.”
Matthew Murray, the former editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, is stepping into the Post’s executive editor role on an interim basis. He will guide the newspaper through its coverage of the 2024 Presidential election, at which point the duties will transfer to new executive editor Robert Winentt.
“I’m deeply honored to join such a storied news institution with its long, rich history of memorable and impactful journalism and want to thank Sally for her great leadership,” Murray said in a statement. ” I am excited by Will and Jeff’s vision for The Post’s next era of growth and reinvention and can’t wait to get started.”
“Jeff” refers to Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder who purchased the Post more than a decade ago. He spent more than $250 million for the Post and other properties, some of which have since shuttered.
The following is the press release the Post issued on the launch of the new digital offering and the changes in its executive editor:
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. Under her leadership, The Washington Post has won significant awards, including the recent Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.
Matt Murray, former Editor in Chief of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), will replace Buzbee as Executive Editor until the 2024 U.S presidential election, after which Robert Winnett, Deputy Editor of The Telegraph Media Group, will take on the new role of Editor at The Washington Post, responsible for overseeing our core coverage areas, including politics, investigations, business, technology, sports and features.
The Washington Post also announced today its intention 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-fits-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.
The move will also allow the core news division to focus on growing The Post subscriber base and building a new suite of professional products – Pro, Plus and Membership.
Sally is an incredible leader and a supremely talented media executive who will be sorely missed. I wish her all the best going forward,” said William Lewis, CEO and Publisher of The Washington Post.
Murray will join as Executive Editor, effective immediately. He worked at The Wall Street Journal for 29 years, eventually leading its 1,300-person newsroom as well as overseeing the publication’s editorial strategy and operations. Under Murray’s tenure, The Wall Street Journal doubled its digital traffic and subscriptions, and achieved record growth in video and audio audiences as it expanded across all platforms.
“I’m deeply honored to join such a storied news institution with its long, rich history of memorable and impactful journalism and want to thank Sally for her great leadership,” said Murray. “I am excited by Will and Jeff’s vision for The Post’s next era of growth and reinvention and can’t wait to get started.”
This fall, Winnett will take on the new role of Editor at The Washington Post, responsible for overseeing its core coverage areas, including politics, investigations, business, technology, sports and features. He will transition into the role leading up to the election. On November 6th, Murray will begin his role as leader of the third newsroom.
Winnett has an excellent track record in investigative reporting, delivering scoops and leading significant newsroom transformations. He has run Telegraph Media Group’s news operations since 2013 and has overseen the introduction of Britain’s first fully integrated 24-hour, seven-day news operation covering digital platforms and The Daily and Sunday Telegraph newspapers.
“By creating three, strong, journalism functions – Core, Service/Social and Opinions – we are taking a definitive step away from the ‘one size fits all’ approach and moving towards meeting our audiences where they are,” said Lewis.
Murray, Winnett and David Shipley, who heads the Opinions Newsroom as Editorial Page Editor, will each report directly to William Lewis.
