The Washington Post’s Executive Editor Retires After Turning the Paper Around

The Washington Post is losing a journalism giant, as Executive Editor Marty Baron announced his decision to retire earlier this week. He will officially step away from the newspaper next month on February 28 after a 45-year career in journalism.

Almost two years ago, Baron told department heads that he was committed to staying at The Post through the 2020 presidential election, a promise he has fulfilled. The newspaper is yet to name his successor but said the search will be broad and inclusive, considering both internal candidates as well as journalists at other publications.

In an internal memo published on The Post’s website, Publisher and CEO Fred Ryan stated, “Although we have long known this day would come, it does not lessen the emotion we feel with news of Marty Baron‘s decision to retire.”

Baron had led the paper’s newsroom leadership for the past eight years and helped it experience a dramatic resurgence by expanding its coverage areas and overseeing its digital transformation. Ryan added, “With his unique skill in recognizing and recruiting great journalists, he has expanded The Post newsroom from 580 journalists when he arrived to over 1,000 this year. His leadership of The Post newsroom has earned global respect and has been recognized in many ways, including 10 Pulitzer Prizes.”

In his memo to the newsroom, Baron said “The Post is well positioned for the future. We have now created a truly national and international news organization. We lead in coverage of politics and national policy. We have a bigger politics team, more investigative journalists and more foreign correspondents than ever. We have significantly increased our reporting presence across the country. We have broadened our coverage in areas such as technology, economic policy, climate change, gender and race, arts, travel, media, food and even esports. We have been a pioneer in storytelling techniques, drawing upon impressive skills in data analysis, audio, video, graphics, design, photography and audience engagement. We are on the cusp of becoming a fully 24-hour operation, with journalists always on duty to deliver stories quickly and smartly. A culture of perpetual innovation has taken hold, attuned to how people receive information and deploying technology to better serve them.”

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