Staff members at The Washington Post are calling on the paper’s owner, Jeff Bezos, to meet with them in person amid growing employee concerns. The staff’s dissatisfaction culminated in a letter signed by more than 400 employees, urging Bezos to meet with them to discuss the paper’s leadership and direction.
Well-known reporters and editors request the meeting to address concerns about the newspaper’s future. In a letter sent Tuesday, Jan. 14, employees state that they are “deeply alarmed” by recent decisions. They say it raised questions about the paper’s integrity, damaged transparency and led to a wave of high-profile departures.
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While the letter does not single out individuals, it criticizes the leadership under CEO Will Lewis. His editorial decisions have not always been supported by staff.
Notably, top editor Sally Buzbee resigned in June following a reorganization led by Lewis. His choice to replace her, Robert Winnett, withdrew after staff backlash. More recent resignations include a cartoonist over a controversy surrounding a Bezos cartoon. Some reporters have also left for other publications.
Several editorial staff members also resigned after the paper’s decision to end its endorsements of presidential candidates. However, staffers say Bezos’s decision is unrelated to the concerns they want to discuss.
Instead, the letter emphasizes the need to restore trust, regain a competitive edge amid a drop in subscriptions and improve communication between leadership and staff.
Employees are asking Bezos to visit The Post’s offices for a regroup, similar to his 2023 visit following discontent with former publisher Fred Ryan, who stepped down later that year.
A spokesperson for The Washington Post has not commented on the letter, and Bezos has not responded as of this report.
