Scoop: Washington Post's top editor prospects flee after hearing its business strategy

By Sara Fischer

Scoop: Washington Post's top editor prospects flee after hearing its business strategy

Zoom in: Levy, who pulled out last week, and Kornblut, whose conversations ended in September, declined to comment. Other candidates include current interim executive editor Matt Murray. But it's hard to imagine this monthslong process unfolding so publicly -- only to end with the same guy in charge.

Kornblut, who declined to move forward with the process after initial conversations, is Meta's VP of global product content operations.

Matea Gold -- a respected, popular managing editor many reporters wanted in the top job, and who conceived of and ran the Post's Pulitzer-winning investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol -- announced last week that she's moving to the New York Times as Washington editor, making her deputy to the bureau chief.

Axios confirmed that the search firm also reached out to Kevin Merida and Steven Ginsberg, two former Washington Post managing editors. Neither expressed interest in the role.

The big picture: Bezos has said little about what he wants for a revived Post. He is scheduled to dine with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago this week -- two months after killing a Post endorsement of Trump's rival, Vice President Harris.

Between the lines: The Post has lost a ton of talent this last year, and several stars are talking to competitors about leaving soon. One hot rumor inside the Post: The Atlantic is licking its chops over political writers who are increasingly poachable. Other Posties are eying the New York Times, long known at the Post as "Brand X."

Behind the scenes: A huge source of newsroom agita has been a decision by Lewis to scale back the traditional ceremony for the annual Eugene Meyer Awards, which recognize employees with 10+ years of service, and the Ben Bradlee Award for Courage in Journalism, honoring the relentless pursuit of truth.

What we're watching: Given Gold's experience at the Post and what sources have described to Axios, Lewis appears most interested in hiring candidates from outside the organization.

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