Robert Winnett, who was selected to be editor-in-chief of The Washington Post, will not take the job due to his alleged ties to unethical reporting practices in the UK.
Winnett, who serves as deputy editor, plans to remain with the paper, according to an email sent Friday to employees of the London-based Daily Telegraph and staff at The Washington Post.
“We are pleased to announce that Rob Winnett has decided to stay with us,” the paper's editor-in-chief, Chris Evans, said in a message to Telegraph staff. “As you all know, he is a talented individual and their loss is our gain.”
The Washington Post CEO Will Lewis confirmed the news in an email to staff.
“I am sad to announce that Robert Winett has resigned as editor in chief of The Washington Post,” Lewis wrote. “Rob is someone I have the utmost respect for and an incredibly talented editor and journalist.” He said the Post would search for someone to fill the position.
Winnett did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Mr. Winnett had earned a reputation as an unassuming news hunter whose relentless pursuit of scoops earned him the nickname “Mouse Boy.” But recent reports in the New York Times and Washington Post detailing Mr. Winnett's ties to a private investigator who acknowledged using unethical tactics to obtain information have put his appointment as editor of the Washington Post in jeopardy.
The relationship, first revealed by The Times and confirmed by The Washington Post, raised alarm bells among The Post's reporters, many of whom had said privately that they thought he was an unsuitable candidate to run one of America's leading newsrooms.
Several Washington Post reporters told The Times on Friday they were relieved that Winnett would no longer serve as editor-in-chief.
“Ratboy is out!” one journalist texted.
Lewis told Post employees on June 2 that Winnett would become the paper's editor-in-chief after the November presidential election. Until then, former Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Matt Murray was set to take over as interim editor from the Post's former editor-in-chief, Sally Buzbee. Winnett's future at the Post became unclear after investigative reports were published last week by The New York Times and then by the Post.
Lewis said in an email on Friday that Murray would remain editor-in-chief of The Post until after the U.S. presidential election. He said the Post plans to create a new division focused on so-called service journalism in the first quarter of next year. When Winnett's appointment was announced, Murray was set to lead the new division.
Winnett's decision to resign is a major blow to Chief Executive Will Lewis, who hired the British editor as part of a shakeup of the Post's editorial department. Busby resigned as Lewis embarked on a major restructuring of the paper that forced him out of his job.
Lewis has also come under fire recently after The Times reported that he clashed with Buzbee over a decision to cover developments in a court case that mentioned Lewis in the phone-tapping case. (Lewis denies that he pressured Buzbee.) The next day, an NPR reporter said Lewis had promised him an exclusive interview in exchange for ignoring the phone-tapping story. Lewis responded by calling the reporter an “activist” and acknowledging that they had spoken privately.
More revelations about Lewis and Winnett have emerged. Last week, The New York Times reported that Lewis and Winnett had used illegally obtained records in a news article for The Sunday Times of London. The following day, The Washington Post ran a 3,000-word investigative piece on Winnett, linking him to John Ford, a private investigator who has admitted to using unethical methods to obtain exclusive information on bigwigs.
With Winnett leaving the Post, it's unclear who will lead the editorial department permanently. The Post has historically conducted a lengthy search for a top editor-in-chief position, culminating in interviews with Post owner Jeff Bezos and his CEO. Winnett's appointment was a bit unconventional for the Post. Lewis initially allowed Buzbee to choose a co-editor to run the Post's news division, then told him Winnett would join the Post.