Sally Buzbee, First Woman To Lead The Washington Post, Steps Down

The top editor at The Washington Post, Sally Buzbee, has stepped down after three years at the helm of one of the most storied publications in the United States. Buzbee will be replaced by Matt Murray, a former editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, until the conclusion of the 2024 US presidential election in November, the newspaper said in a statement on its website on Sunday.

After that, when the newsroom reorganizes, Robert Winnett, deputy editor of the Telegraph Media Group, will assume the role of editor. The reason for Buzbee's exit was not disclosed. She did not immediately respond to a message requesting comment, and she was not included in the news release announcing her departure.

Buzbee, the first female executive editor in the Post’s 144-year history, took over from Marty Baron in 2021 after more than three decades at The Associated Press.

Meet Sally Buzbee

Buzbee was born in Washington's Walla Walla. Before earning her high school diploma in Olathe, Kansas, she resided in the Dallas suburbs and the Bay Area. After graduating from the University of Kansas with a bachelor's degree, she started working for the Associated Press in 1988. She graduated from Georgetown University with an MBA.

Buzbee started her reporting career in Topeka and San Diego with the Associated Press. Later on, she was headquartered in Cairo and served as the organization's regional editor for the Middle East. For the 2012 and 2016 elections, she went back to the United States to work as the chief of the AP's Washington bureau. Buzbee joined AP in 2017 as an executive editor and senior vice president.

In May 2021, Buzbee succeeded Martin Baron following the Post's meteoric rise in popularity under the Trump presidency. Under Buzbee’s leadership, the Post won six Pulitzer Prizes, including three last month.

CEO and Publisher William Lewis, who joined the Post in January, described Buzbee as an “incredible leader and a supremely talented media executive who will be sorely missed”.

The past few years have been financially dreadful for the journalism industry, including The Post. Last month, Lewis told during a company town hall meeting that the newspaper was bleeding subscribers and had lost $77m last year.