• by Ray Schultz , June 26, 2024

Will Lewis, embattled CEO of The Washington Post, has suspended the newsletter that he sends weekly to former PR and consulting clients after sponsor AlixPartners hit the pause button, Financial Times reports.  

Lewis had continued sending the “What to Read” newsletter through WJLP, his former company, after joining The Washington Post earlier this year, FT says.

According to FT, WJLP issued this statement last week: “William Lewis has had no financial interest in WJLP since 29th December 2023 and WJLP has no contractual relationship with the Washington Post.” 

This is just one of several revelations that have dogged Lewis in recent weeks, even as Post owner Jeff Bezos appears to be holding on to him.   

In one of the more recent stories, The New York Times alleges that London police saw Lewis as an impediment to their investigation of a phone-hacking scandal involving his former employer News Corp. 

The company was attempting to “steer the investigation into a very narrow remit,” pointing to a few journalists while “steering the investigation away from other journalists and editors,” a lead detective wrote in an internal summary of events, the Times writes.

The furor seemed to have lessened a bit by Wednesday. Still, two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists at the Post had called for Lewis to step down. 

The fast-moving story started earlier this month when Sally Buzbee stepped down as executive editor of the Post.

Lewis’ choice as editor of the Post, Robert Winnett, has decided to remain at the Daily Telegraph in the UK instead of moving to the U.S. newspaper.

Matt Murray -- another British news veteran who was tapped by Lewis to serve as executive editor until the presidential election, after which he was to create the “third newsroom” -- will remain in the role following the November poll. Lewis informed the staff that he is searching for a replacement for Winnett.