Pulitzer-Winning Washington Post Veteran David Maraniss Blasts Bezos, Calls for Leadership Change To Maintain Newsroom ‘Integrity’
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File
Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post associate editor David Maraniss blasted the publication’s billionaire owner Jeff Bezos as being “not of” or “for” the newspaper in a public call for a change in leadership at the newspaper.
The move comes after Bezos issued an email to staffers on Tuedsay requesting the “support” of the newsroom while the team implemented “change” within the “business” and insisted that the “journalistic standards and ethics” of the outlet “will not change.”
In a Facebook post on Wednesday night, Maraniss argued that not “a single person” in the newsroom believes the current scandal around CEO Will Lewis “can stand” and said “the issue is one of integrity not resistance to change.”
Maraniss unleashed his take in a Facebook post on Wednesday evening. (Screengrab via Facebook)
In a further post on Tuesday, the journalist wrote: “The staff is rightly and fearlessly investigating and questioning the acts of its publisher and supposed next editor whose refusal to answer all questions is inexcusable and unacceptable. The body is rejecting the transfusion.”
This public denouncement is symptomatic of a deeper unrest within the Washington Post, as the newsroom reportedly struggles under the leadership of Lewis. Lewis is in charge of turning the newspaper around, which reported losses last year of $77 million.
Controversy erupted at the Post following recent reports that Lewis attempted to suppress stories about a long-running civil court battle related to phone hacking during his tenure at billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s News International.
Lewis’ new hire, incoming editor Robert Winnett, a former colleague and mentee during tenure at UK newspapers, is also under scrutiny amid claims he hired a self-confessed “thief” to use illegal tactics in gathering confidential information for reporting.
Investigative teams from the Washington Post and the New York Times are continuing to probe into Lewis’ background with focused coverage set to continue during the upcoming Prince Harry phone hacking lawsuit in London.
