Following a tumultuous week at The Washington Post that included the surprise announcement of a new editor in chief and reports that its chief executive had opposed publishing a news story about himself, the paper's executives sought to reassure staff on Friday.
In a reconciliation memo to employees Friday evening, Chief Executive Will Lewis acknowledged that “the hurt of the past and the interactions this week have led to a loss of trust.” He urged Post employees to “put them behind us and begin to act in good faith.”
“So I should be humbled,” Lewis wrote. “I need to improve how well I listen and how well I communicate so that we can all agree more clearly on where we urgently need to improve and why.”
New editor-in-chief Matt Murray acknowledged the confusion during a morning press conference. He praised the work of his editorial team, including a strong story published Thursday night about the allegations surrounding Lewis.
Murray, a former editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, said he knew staffers were discussing challenges facing the Post but encouraged them to “stand up straight and be proud of your journalism,” according to recordings obtained by The New York Times.
He said he had recused himself from writing about Mr Lewis.
Also visiting the newsroom on Friday was Patty Stonesifer, the former interim CEO of The Washington Post and a widely respected aide to Post owner Jeff Bezos who helped select Lewis for the position last year.
Mr. Stonesifer has met with senior editors and other journalists to try to ease concerns raised by this week's unrest, according to two people familiar with the matter.
There was consternation in the newsroom on Sunday evening when Mr Lewis announced that Sally Busby would step down as the paper's editor-in-chief and that Mr Murray would take over on an interim basis.
Lewis also announced a major restructuring: After the election, Murray will oversee a new division focused on service and social media journalism, and new editor-in-chief Robert Winnett will oversee core news coverage after the presidential election.
The Times later reported that Mr Lewis and Mr Busby were at odds over whether to report on developments in the British hacking case. The judge in the case was due to speak on whether Mr Lewis' name could be added to a list of executives the plaintiffs allege were involved in a plot to cover up evidence of the newspaper hacking.
Lewis has pushed back against the reporting, according to two people familiar with the exchange, and claims the account of the exchange is inaccurate.
On Thursday, NPR media reporter David Folkenflik wrote that Lewis had offered him an exclusive interview last year in exchange for not writing a story about the phone-tapping scandal. Lewis told The Washington Post that he had had private conversations with Folkenflik, calling him “an activist, not a journalist.”
Leaders of the Washington Post Union, which represents members of The Post's editorial staff, sent a letter to Murray on Friday urging him to protect his journalistic independence, according to a copy of the letter seen by The Times.
In a memo to staff later that day, Murray praised The Post's journalism, reaffirmed his commitment to its journalistic integrity and noted “the importance of strong, independent journalism that is not swayed by any outside pressure.”
Mr. Lewis' first five months on the job were relatively smooth, with him making a habit of reading reporters' articles early in the morning, sending them letters of praise and periodically chatting with them at their desks to build up goodwill.
In an interview with The Washington Post last year, Stonesifer said he and Bezos chose Lewis in part because he “had been a journalist first and foremost for many years and then came to say that good journalism requires good business.”