Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan steps down

By Oliver Darcy, CNN Business

(CNN) — Fred Ryan, the publisher and chief executive of The Washington Post who oversaw the newspaper through several tumultuous years, announced on Monday that he will step down from his position after nearly a decade at the helm.

Ryan, who previously worked for former President Ronald Reagan, said he will depart to head the nonpartisan Center on Public Civility, which is being launched by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation.

“Nine years ago, I was honored to be selected by Jeff Bezos to be Publisher and CEO of The Washington Post,” Ryan wrote in a memo to staff on Monday. “Working with Jeff and the exceptional team at The Post has been an incredible experience and enormously gratifying.”

Under Ryan, The Post has been a journalistic tour de force, winning 13 Pulitzer Prizes and countless other awards. The newspaper has also grown as a business, significantly increasing digital subscriptions during the chaotic presidency of Donald Trump.

“Together, we have accomplished one of the most extraordinary transformations in modern media history,” Ryan said. “We have evolved from a primarily local print newspaper to become a global digital publication. We’ve added significantly to the tremendous team of journalists, engineers and business experts and have taken The Post through multiple years of profitability.”

But The Post has not been immune to recent challenges facing the news industry, which has been hit particularly hard by a weakened advertising economy. The paper, which ended 2022 in the red, has laid off staff and made other cuts in recent months.

Ryan alienated much of the newsroom when he abruptly told staffers in December that The Post would undergo layoffs in early 2023. Employees were aghast at the manner in which Ryan delivered the news and then refused to take questions from staff. He was filmed walking off stage as reporters peppered him with questions.

Ryan’s handling of the matter angered much of the newsroom and pushed high-profile reporters to join the newspaper’s union, including some who had previously resisted joining the union, known as The Washington Post Newspaper Guild. The incident dealt a blow to Ryan’s reputation internally.

Ryan said that he will continue in his position as publisher of the newspaper until August 1 to help with the transition. Patty Stonesifer, the founding chief executive of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and an Amazon board member, will serve as interim chief executive of The Post.

Jeff Bezos, executive chairman of Amazon and the billionaire owner of the newspaper, praised Ryan for leading the outlet “through a period of innovation, journalistic excellence, and growth.”

“I’m deeply grateful to Fred for his leadership and for the friendship that we’ve developed over the years,” Bezos wrote in a note of his own to staff. “I look forward to continuing to enjoy both as he works to advance civility in our nation’s discourse.”

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