Exclusive: Washington Post to overhaul newsroom structure

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4 hours ago - Business
Exclusive: Washington Post to overhaul newsroom structure

Sara Fischer

The Washington Post is making major changes to its newsroom that are meant to broaden the outlet's coverage and reach a wider audience, according to a staff memo from executive editor Matt Murray obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: The shifts follow months of high-profile staff departures and blowback to recent opinion coverage changes by owner Jeff Bezos.

• Longtime Post opinion editor and columnist Ruth Marcus resigned from the Post Monday after CEO Will Lewis killed her column expressing concerns about Bezos' opinion section changes.
• Former Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron penned a scathing piece about the changes last week.

Zoom in: As part of the newsroom overhaul, the Post will divide its national desk into two sections that focus on national reporting, and politics and government coverage, respectively.

• The politics and government desk "will encompass most of our reporters and editors covering the political scene and the government, which remain a central pillar for The Post," Murray wrote. "The Economics and Economic Policy team from Business will move to this department."
• The national desk, "which incorporates the America team, the education team, and the GA desk in Washington, will have a remit to cover the United States and important issues and figures outside of Washington and across the country more broadly," he added.
• Business, technology, health, science and climate teams will be brought together "in a new department that focuses on "how businesses are transforming across the economy; how scientific and technological shifts are affecting daily life; and what it all means for people's health, security and the planet," Murray said.
• New department head roles for each new desk will be posted shortly, Murray said. Murray hopes all newsroom changes are in place by no later than May 5.

Zoom out: The shifts are also meant to prioritize digital products and reader engagement, Murray said.

• Each reorganized department will have its own senior editor for audience growth and a senior editor for visuals.
• Murray is hiring a head of print to "ring-fence print from the rest of the newsroom and make it completely downstream, so the majority of us can focus our efforts on our growing digital products."
• "Text will no longer be a default (format) and length no more a reflexive measure of quality," he said.

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