The Washington Post announced on the 4th that William Lewis (54), a former publisher of the Wall Street Journal, has been appointed as the new publisher and CEO of the Washington Post.
According to the media, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, the owner of WP, announced Lewis’s appointment by internal e-mail on the same day. Bezos said, “I was fascinated by Lewis’ love for journalism and his passion for financial success. He will build the future of WP.” Lewis was named to replace former publisher Fred Ryan, who stepped down in August. He will be officially inaugurated in January next year.
Lewis was the CEO and issuer of WSJ’s parent company Dow Jones from 2014 to 2020, and was evaluated for expanding the digital base of the media. During his tenure, the number of WSJ’s digital subscribers increased by nearly 2 million. This is three times more than before he took office, the WP said.
WP grew significantly during the Donald Trump administration, but faced a crisis through COVID-19. The number of online paid subscribers has recently fallen from 3 million in 2020 to 2.5 million. A deficit of $100 million is also expected this year. Accordingly, it is considering reducing the number of employees by about 10%. In the case of WP newsrooms, it plans to reduce the number of people from 1,000 to 940.
Lewis previously worked for the Financial Times and the Telegraph in the U.K. and was editor-in-chief of the Telegraph. According to the WP, he served as an unofficial advisor to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He was knighted by the British royal family last month on Johnson’s recommendation.
JENNIFER KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
