NEW YORK — The new publisher of the Washington Post is facing questions about whether he has made attempts — at his own newspaper and elsewhere — to conceal his involvement in a British phone-hacking scandal since he worked for Rupert Murdoch a decade ago.
The week-long saga that started with the abrupt departure from the Post’s editor-in-chief on Sunday evening, offers insight into the differences between approaches to journalism in Britain and the United States – and touches on delicate issues of trust in the American media community as it approaches a contentious and seismic presidential election.
The publisher and CEO, Will Lewis, has denied any wrongdoing in Britain and at the Post.
Lewis, a former publisher of The Wall Street Journal, arrived in January to revive the Post, which is awash in red ink and has seen its digital readership fall by half since 2020. Lewis is also vice chairman of the board of The Associated Press. of directors.
He announced a restructuring plan on Sunday, that did not include top news manager Sally Buzbee, who was apparently forced out or chose not to accept a demotion. Buzbee, the former top news executive at the AP, led the Post newsroom for three years. She has not spoken about her departure.
This week The New York Times reported that Lewis Buzbee told a phone call last month that a development in Prince Harry’s lawsuit over the phone hacking scandal did not warrant reporting in the Post.
That vast affair concerned the alleged interception of voicemails from celebrities and royals by Murdoch-owned newspapers in Britain. Plaintiffs in a civil case have alleged that Lewis engaged in efforts to curb the trouble, in part by destroying evidence. Lewis has denied this.
The Times said Lewis told Buzbee it would be an error of judgment to tell the story, which was eventually published. Lewis told his own newspaper on Thursday that he did not remember using that phrase. Buzbee did not return a message from the AP on Friday seeking her own characterization of the conversation.
In mainstream American journalism, it is generally considered an ethical violation for a publisher to become involved in these types of news decisions, especially if he is involved.
“I know how this works,” Lewis told the Post on Thursday. “I know what is the right thing to do and what not to do. I know where the boundaries are and I respect them.”
Later Thursday, National Public Radio media reporter David Folkenflik said wrote that before taking over at the Post, Lewis “repeatedly and heatedly” offered NPR an exclusive interview about his plans — in exchange for Folkenflik dropping a story he was writing about the director’s involvement in the phone hacking case.
Folkenflik refused, and the story ran on December 20, 2023.
When asked about this, Lewis called Folkenflik an activist rather than a journalist, telling the Post: “I had an off-the-record conversation with him before I joined the Post and about six months later he dusted it off and made some things up. excuse to turn a non-story into a story.”
Folkenflik said the offer, later confirmed by a press representative, was not unofficial.
“Certainly, journalists at The New York Times, CNN and within his own newsroom have concluded that what I reported about him this week and previously was newsworthy,” he said Friday. “I think this is the verdict on our carefully reported journalism. He can say whatever he wants, but that doesn’t mean this will go away.”
There were no comments Friday from Lewis or the Post’s owner, billionaire Jeff Bezos.
In his Post comments, Lewis said he decided early on that he would not talk about his job in connection with the aftermath of the phone hacking scandal. “And it’s right or wrong that I did that,” he said.
Lewis grew up as a journalist in Britain, where there is a more naked reporting style. One of the editors he hired in the Post’s restructuring, Robert Winnett, worked with Lewis at the Daily Telegraph. One of their biggest stories, about misused expense claims by MPs, was based in part on data the newspaper had allegedly paid for – an approach that some American journalists would frown upon.
While some Post journalists have raised questions and concerns about the restructuring plan Lewis is pursuing, he has emphasized the need for decisive, urgent action. He told staff at a meeting this week that he can’t hide the fact that “people don’t read your stuff.”
The unrest at one of the country’s leading sources of political journalism comes at a delicate time: a month before Republicans are set to nominate Donald Trump for president and the campaign against incumbent President Joe Biden begins in earnest.
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David Bauder writes about media for The Associated Press. Follow him up http://twitter.com/dbauder.