Newly named Washington Post editor decides not to take job after backlash, will stay in Britain
Copyright Source：
Yueke
Thu, Jun 27, 2024
PHOTO: Yueke
NEW YORK (AP) — The Washington Post’s newly appointed editor, Robert Winnett, has decided not to assume his role, opting to remain in England. This decision, announced on Friday, marks another upheaval at the news outlet, where recent events have gone disastrously wrong.
Winnett had been the subject of several published reports that questioned whether his ethical standards aligned with those of American journalists. The Post’s CEO and publisher announced Winnett’s decision in a note to staff and stated that a recruitment firm would be immediately hired to search for a replacement.
The financially struggling Post had announced that Winnett would take over as editor of the core newsroom functions after November’s presidential election. Concurrently, the Post was setting up a “third newsroom” dedicated to finding new ways for its journalism to generate revenue.
Three weeks ago, then-executive editor Sally Buzbee said she would quit rather than accept a demotion to head this revenue-enhancement effort. Besides Winnett’s hiring, former Wall Street Journal editor Matt Murray was brought on as her interim replacement and future leader of the “third newsroom.”
Since then, several published reports had raised questions about the journalistic ethics of both Lewis and Winnett stemming from their work in England. For example, both men collaborated on a series of scoops about extravagant spending by British politicians, fueled by information they paid a data information company for—a practice frowned upon by American journalists.
The New York Times reported that both Winnett and Lewis were involved in stories that appeared to be based on fraudulently obtained phone and business records. This sparked a newsroom revolt at The Post. David Maraniss, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who has worked at the newspaper for four decades, said this week that he didn’t know anyone there who thought the situation with the publisher and “supposed new editor” could stand.
“The body is rejecting the transfusion,” Maraniss wrote on Facebook.
Lewis, a former Wall Street Journal publisher and vice chairman of The Associated Press’ board of directors, was hired by billionaire owner Jeff Bezos to stem a costly exodus of readers. The Post had reported a loss of $77 million last year.
In a memo to key staff members earlier this week, Bezos assured them that journalistic standards and ethics at the newspaper would not change. “I know you’ve already heard this from Will, but I wanted to also weigh in directly,” he wrote.
“To be sure, it can’t be business as usual at The Post,” Bezos wrote. “The world is evolving rapidly, and we do need to change as a business.”
In his Facebook note, Maraniss said that the issue for staff members is integrity, not resistance to change. It remains to be seen whether Lewis can gain staff support to survive himself.
“I think the deal is Will Lewis stays, for now,” former Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan said in a message on X Friday. “Winnett’s pre-ouster is the sacrifice/compromise. Was his tenure even less than a single Scaramucci?”
Lewis said Friday that the recruitment firm and process for replacing Winnett will be announced soon. Winnett’s sudden hiring—without any indication of an extensive search—had also rankled staff members.
Lewis said that the reorganization efforts would continue, albeit delayed. He mentioned that the “third newsroom” would be operational early next year.
Winnett is staying at the Telegraph in London. Telegraph editor Chris Evans told that newspaper, “He’s a talented chap, and their loss is our gain,” according to the Guardian.
___
Associated Press correspondent Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. David Bauder writes about media for The Associated Press. Follow him at .
Winnett had been the subject of several published reports that questioned whether his ethical standards aligned with those of American journalists. The Post’s CEO and publisher announced Winnett’s decision in a note to staff and stated that a recruitment firm would be immediately hired to search for a replacement.
The financially struggling Post had announced that Winnett would take over as editor of the core newsroom functions after November’s presidential election. Concurrently, the Post was setting up a “third newsroom” dedicated to finding new ways for its journalism to generate revenue.
Three weeks ago, then-executive editor Sally Buzbee said she would quit rather than accept a demotion to head this revenue-enhancement effort. Besides Winnett’s hiring, former Wall Street Journal editor Matt Murray was brought on as her interim replacement and future leader of the “third newsroom.”
Since then, several published reports had raised questions about the journalistic ethics of both Lewis and Winnett stemming from their work in England. For example, both men collaborated on a series of scoops about extravagant spending by British politicians, fueled by information they paid a data information company for—a practice frowned upon by American journalists.
The New York Times reported that both Winnett and Lewis were involved in stories that appeared to be based on fraudulently obtained phone and business records. This sparked a newsroom revolt at The Post. David Maraniss, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who has worked at the newspaper for four decades, said this week that he didn’t know anyone there who thought the situation with the publisher and “supposed new editor” could stand.
“The body is rejecting the transfusion,” Maraniss wrote on Facebook.
Lewis, a former Wall Street Journal publisher and vice chairman of The Associated Press’ board of directors, was hired by billionaire owner Jeff Bezos to stem a costly exodus of readers. The Post had reported a loss of $77 million last year.
In a memo to key staff members earlier this week, Bezos assured them that journalistic standards and ethics at the newspaper would not change. “I know you’ve already heard this from Will, but I wanted to also weigh in directly,” he wrote.
“To be sure, it can’t be business as usual at The Post,” Bezos wrote. “The world is evolving rapidly, and we do need to change as a business.”
In his Facebook note, Maraniss said that the issue for staff members is integrity, not resistance to change. It remains to be seen whether Lewis can gain staff support to survive himself.
“I think the deal is Will Lewis stays, for now,” former Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan said in a message on X Friday. “Winnett’s pre-ouster is the sacrifice/compromise. Was his tenure even less than a single Scaramucci?”
Lewis said Friday that the recruitment firm and process for replacing Winnett will be announced soon. Winnett’s sudden hiring—without any indication of an extensive search—had also rankled staff members.
Lewis said that the reorganization efforts would continue, albeit delayed. He mentioned that the “third newsroom” would be operational early next year.
Winnett is staying at the Telegraph in London. Telegraph editor Chris Evans told that newspaper, “He’s a talented chap, and their loss is our gain,” according to the Guardian.
___
Associated Press correspondent Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. David Bauder writes about media for The Associated Press. Follow him at .
Workers Sue Disney Claiming They Were Fraudulently Induced to Move to Florida from California
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney workers are suing their employer, claiming they were fraudulently induced to relocate to work in a new office campus only to have those plans later scrapped amid a fight between the entertainment giant and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In July 2021, the Disney Parks’ chief informed workers in California that most white-collar employees would be transferred to the new campus in Orlando to consolidate different teams and allow for greater collaboration.
Employees in digital technology, finance, and product development departments would be transferred to the campus located about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the giant Walt Disney World theme park resort, the company said at the time.
Many workers were reluctant to make the move given their longstanding ties to Southern California and fears of uprooting their families, but Disney encouraged the move by promising a state-of-the-art, centralized workplace and greater affordability in central Florida, according to the class action lawsuit filed earlier this week.
“In sum, employees were incentivized to move through a combination of reward and punishment,” the lawsuit said. “An employee could choose to move to a better life in Florida, or alternatively, choose not to move and be terminated by Disney.”
By late 2021, as large numbers of Disney employees resisted relocating, Disney told them to put their moving plans on hold. Meanwhile, a group of workers who had decided to relocate, including the lead plaintiffs, Maria De La Cruz and George Fong, sold their California homes with the understanding that the company expected them to make the move, and they purchased homes in central Florida, the lawsuit said.
Fong, who works as a creative director of product design, sold his childhood home which he had inherited.
By June 2022, though, Disney leaders told the California workers that the opening of the new Orlando campus was being delayed and that they could postpone moving until 2026 but were still encouraged to relocate by 2024.
By this time, DeSantis had clashed with the company over its public opposition to a Florida law which restricts discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. With the help of Republicans in the Florida Legislature, DeSantis revamped the governing district for Walt Disney World and took control in early 2023. Before the DeSantis takeover, the governing district had been controlled by supporters of Disney for more than five decades.
By May 2023, Disney told its workers that the plans to open the $1 billion campus in Orlando were being scrapped and that the workers who had moved to Florida could move back to California if they chose.
According to the lawsuit, many of the workers who had moved to Florida were worried about their job security if they didn’t relocate back to California since most of their team members were still there and the company lacked the facilities in Florida to accommodate the teams.
After the decision to pull the plug on the Orlando campus, housing prices surrounding the campus dropped and the price of housing in California continued to increase, just as mortgage interest rates also rose higher in 2023. Fong and De La Cruz, a vice president of product design, have moved back or plan to move back to California and are seeking undisclosed economic and punitive damages.
“Other similarly situated individuals have been forced to purchase or rent less desirable housing upon their return to California,” the lawsuit said.
Disney didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on Friday.
Earlier this month, Disney and the DeSantis appointees to Disney World’s governing district formally ended their fight over control of the government district. Under the deal, the DeSantis appointees committed the district to making infrastructure improvements in exchange for Disney investing up to $17 billion into Disney World over the next two decades.
___
Mike Schneider’s book, “Mickey and the Teamsters: A Fight for Fair Unions at Disney,” was published in October by the University Press of Florida. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.
Top Headlines