When Sally Buzbee joined the Washington Post a year ago this month, she took over the newsroom, which almost doubled to more than 1,000 journalists under the ownership of Jeff Bezos, who bought it in 2013. The report received the Pulitzer Prize on a regular basis.
Since then, newspapers have continued to grow. With the latest news hubs in Seoul and London, it has become a 24-hour global operation. It has expanded the scope of the technology, climate And personal health. The report won the Pulitzer Prize for public services this year.
However, while Busby is currently defensive, he has not been able to completely control the newsroom and is facing a civil war that is overturning some of her bold plans.
The inner frustration of Mr. Busby caught the eye of the general public. Much of it came from two social media storms. One led to the dismissal of the reporter and the other to the accusation that the promotion of the feature editor was unfairly revoked. Many newspaper journalists say the problem is due to outdated policies about how employees should behave themselves online and the star system that led to uneven enforcement of those policies. Buzbee announced a draft new social media policy on Wednesday.
Some in the newsroom feel that Mr. Busby does not prioritize meeting ranks and files to deal with these frustrations. Other workers have messed up her return-to-work requirements, creating tensions among national and metropolitan reporting teams.
At a controversial meeting last week, some staff told Mr. Busby that she hadn’t gained their trust yet, according to some of the dozens of attendees. .. Newspaper media columnist Margaret Sullavan told Mr. Busby at the meeting that revoking the promotion of a functional editor would unduly undermine his career. Many others spoke with similar feelings.
At another meeting with Mr. Busby on Tuesday, one editor expressed concern from his staff that the promotion to the editorial role did not seem to be an appetizing post. According to conference officials, Mr. Busby responded with an enthusiastic speech that the editor’s job was to help people do a great job and grow their careers.
Feelings about Mr. Busby and details of the meeting were shared in interviews with more than 20 incumbent and former post office staff. They spoke to explain the internal workings of the newsroom on anonymous terms.
Many have stated that some of the concerns were prior to Mr. Busby’s arrival. They also said that her work became more difficult as she arrived during her pandemic and most people worked remotely. They said Mr. Busby made many friends in the post news room.Many influential reporters Tweet of unison Last week, in support of the newspaper’s direction.
“Sally exceeded all expectations in her first year,” Post publisher Fred Ryan said in a statement, expressing support for Mr. Busby.
But the recent turmoil has distracted Mr. Busby and the newsroom, which stands out as one of the few newsrooms to successfully navigate the dangerous economics of modern media.
Cameron Barr, chief editor of The Post, said in an interview that the company’s lack of clarity on social media policies has been attributed to the recent turmoil.
“Social media in this context is actually a substitute for newsroom culture,” Barr said. “We have something to do to strengthen the trust and politeness in the newsroom,” he added.
He challenged Mr. Busby’s characterization, saying it was not available to non-stars. “She is very accessible,” he said. “She is very enthusiastic about our work.”
Mr. Busby declined to comment on this article.
Sealing breaker
57-year-old Buzbee joined The Post last June and became the first female editor-in-chief in 145 years of history. She has a career in the Associated Press and has recently been the editor-in-chief. She succeeded Martin Baron. Martin Baron has rebuilt the newsroom for eight years and has received high acclaim, including 10 Pulitzer Prizes.
According to many reporters who have worked closely with her, Mr. Busby is similar to Mr. Baron in his approach to the story and has strong news judgment. Reporters praised how she dealt with complex stories.
However, Mr. Busby has a different management style from Mr. Baron. Although he was widely recognized as a top-down leader, Buzbee is known as the one who listens to everyone in the room before making a decision. She holds more meetings with senior editors and reporters than Baron, people in the post say.
Mr. Busby told all newsroom employees that he had to work in the office at least three days a week. She emphasized the benefits of working directly, rather than punishing someone for not attending.
The plan to return to the office upset some employees. At least two people who recently left the newspaper said in an interview, one on Twitter and another, that this policy was a major factor in their departure decision. Some people were reluctant to follow this policy, and Mr. Busby urged managers to remind employees to come to the office.
There was also friction between the metro and reporting desks across the country. At last year’s meeting, Metro staff raised concerns with Mr. Busby that he was not fully involved in the project to rebuild the January 6 Capitol riot.
The project assigned before Mr. Busby joined was run by the National Desk. It frustrated some reporters at the Metro Desk who had extensive coverage of the event when it unfolded. Mr. Busby agreed that Metro reporters should play a bigger role in the projects carried out after she took over.
The post finally submitted a number of articles and reconstruction projects from Metro staff in a package around January 6th, which won the Pulitzer Prize for public services. A post spokesman said the metro entry was included before the meeting with Mr. Busby was requested.
Public internal conflict
Buzbee inherited the recurring policies of reporters and editors on how post-journalist should act online. Said It was too vague and was enforced unevenly. Baron faced similar tensions during his tenure, including a clash with star reporter Wesley Raleigh. According to a copy of his disciplinary action, Baron threatened to dismiss Raleigh for violating the post’s social media policies, including expressing his political views and criticizing competitors.
A memo created by National Staff in 2020 redefines the purpose of the newsroom on social media, acknowledges the abuse that journalists have suffered online, and reviews the policy to create a more transparent enforcement process. It was recommended to go.
Buzbee told people that he plans to hire a standard editor to update that policy. The person Buzbee was promoted to oversee the standardization team in March hadn’t filled those positions yet when Twitter recently had internal complaints.
Much of the internal conflict began after political reporter David Wegel retweeted sexist and homosexual jokes. In response, another political reporter at the post, Felicia Sonmes, said: Tweet: “It’s great to work in a news agency that allows such retweets!”
Weigel immediately deleted the tweet and apologized. A few days later, several staff members fought online for his actions, and Mr. Busby suspended him for a month. She begged the post-journalist to agree in her email. According to someone with knowledge of the decision, after the employee replied to everyone in favor of Mr. Sonmez, Post blocked all staff replying by email throughout the newsroom.
However, Sonmez did not stop tweeting. She said she punished journalists unevenly and publicly criticized her colleagues for what the newspaper wrote on Twitter. (Sonmes has previously sued the post for discrimination after she was barred from taking up stories related to sexual assault after publicly admitting she was a victim of assault. The judge dismissed the case in March.)
Ryan and Busby agreed that dismissing her was the only option, according to someone with knowledge of the discussion. They met with top editors to discuss their decisions. Some have suggested other options, including pauses. In the end, there was a broad agreement that Mr. Sonmez had to go, he said.
Mr. Busby was scheduled to fire Mr. Sonmez the next night, June 9, the person said. However, the timeline moved up a few hours after Sonmez tweeted early the next morning. Her retirement notice sent from her post violates the post’s standards of disobedience, the malice of her colleagues online, and the collegiality and inclusiveness of her workplace. I blamed him.
In less than an hour, Buzbee met with the functional department to quell another social media rekindling.
Technology reporter Taylor Lorenz, who was invited to the post by the New York Times this year, tweeted that a misunderstanding with her editor led to an incorrect line in the article. The tweet was discussed and agreed by Lorenz and several editors before she posted, three people with knowledge of the discussion said. The tweet prompted protests from Twitter critics who accused her of giving her money.
Prior to the fix, Buzbee offered to reputed editor David Malitz a promotion to run the functional department. He agreed to take it. But a few days later, Mr. Busby withdrew his offer.
At a meeting with the functional group, Mr. Busby asked an angry question about Mr. Maritz’s treatment. She said he was “never reprimanded or punished for any mistakes,” according to a copy of the memo taken at the meeting, but did not mention what was behind her decision. rice field. She said she couldn’t talk about personnel issues.
Post media columnist Sullivan accused Busby of hurting Maritz’s career at the meeting, other staff said. She didn’t get their trust. Some told Mr. Busby that their suspicions were due to her being rarely heard until the meeting.
Lorenz has moved from a functional staff to a technical team, according to three people with knowledge of the move. Mr. Barr was asked to review her article before publication, two people said.
New guidelines
On Tuesday, Buzbee met with dozens of editors in person and asked about recent cataclysms at a video conference. One editor expressed concern from an employee who was wary of becoming an editor in the post after a recent event.
Mr. Busby said at the meeting that he was optimistic about the future of the newspaper. She also told the editors that it was their joint responsibility to protect the credibility of staff, readers and newspapers.
On Wednesday night, newsroom employees emailed a draft of the updated social media guidelines, informing senior editors that they would hold a “listening session” this week to get feedback on the revision.
The draft states that no employee needs to post or get involved in social media platforms. Journalists should not undermine the integrity or reputation of the newsroom. Journalists are “allowed and encouraged to bring their full identity and living experience into their social accounts.”
The draft guidelines also mention that the post considers protecting journalists from online harassment and attacks a priority.
