Robert Winnett withdraws from becoming next Washington Post senior editor
Robert Winnett will no longer become The Washington Post’s senior editor amid growing criticism over his alleged ties to unethical journalism practices.
In a message to staff Friday morning, Post publisher Will Lewis announced “with regret” that Winnett had “withdrawn” from the position of editor and would remain at The Telegraph, a U.K.-based newsroom where he currently serves as deputy editor.
“Rob has my greatest respect and is an incredibly talented editor and journalist,” Lewis wrote. “The leadership at The Telegraph Media Group are reaffirming his continued role as deputy editor.”
The Post will “immediately” begin a “timely and thorough” search to fill the vacant position, Lewis added. Winnett was set to join the Post after the November election to oversee the newsroom’s main reporting arm, in an abrupt leadership shakeup earlier this month that also included the departure of Sally Buzbee as executive editor.
Lewis added that Matt Murray, the former editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, will continue as the Post’s executive editor through the November presidential election. The Post would also continue to prepare the launch of a “third newsroom” — which is slated to cover service and social media journalism — as part of a plan to address the newsroom’s struggling financial picture, he said.
Over the weekend, news reports emerged that included allegations of dubious ethical conduct by Winnett and Lewis. The Post itself reported that Winnett worked with a man who used deceptive tactics to acquire confidential information during his tenure at the Sunday Times. While working at the same British newspaper, the New York Times reported that Lewis and Winnett used stolen phone and company records in the process of reporting two articles.
For both reports, Lewis declined to comment through a Washington Post spokesperson and Winnett did not respond.
The reporting has sparked fierce scrutiny of the publisher and incoming editor, ranging from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists at the Post to former President Donald Trump.
In a message to newsroom leadership on Tuesday, Post owner Jeff Bezos did not directly address the ethics concerns and reiterated his commitment to maintaining the Post’s journalistic quality and standards.
