A longtime editor at the Washington Post is resigning from the newspaper after a recent column “respectfully dissenting from” owner Jeff Bezos’ overhaul of its opinion section was spiked by his top executive at the publication, according to a report.
Ruth Marcus, the opinion columnist who has spent decades at the Washington Post, wrote a letter of resignation to Bezos and CEO Will Lewis, according to New York Times media reporter Ben Mullin, who posted the note on his X account on Monday.
“Will’s decision to not to run the column that I wrote respectfully dissenting from Jeff’s edict — something that I have not experienced in almost two decades of column-writing — underscores that the traditional freedom of columnists to select the topics they wish to address and say what they think has been dangerously eroded,” Marcus wrote in her resignation letter to Bezos and Lewis.
Marcus wrote that Bezos’ overhaul of the opinion section “threatens to break the trust of readers that columnists are writing what they believe, not what the owner has deemed acceptable.”
During her career at the Washington Post, the left-leaning Marcus has covered legal affairs, politics and policy. She also served as the deputy editorial page editor and is recognized for her analysis on Supreme Court decisions and political issues.
Marcus’ resignation comes as the Washington Post is reportedly undergoing a major newsroom reorganization aimed at expanding coverage and attracting a broader audience, according to a memo from executive editor Matt Murray.
As part of the overhaul, the national desk will be split into two sections: one dedicated to national reporting and another focused on politics and government, according to the news site Axios.
The latter will include most of the Post’s political journalists and absorb the Business section’s Economics and Economic Policy team.
Meanwhile, a newly formed department will combine business, technology, health, science and climate reporting.
Murray also announced efforts to prioritize digital content, appointing senior editors for audience growth and visuals in each department.
A dedicated print leader will oversee the newspaper, separating it from digital operations.
Acknowledging potential challenges, Murray admitted, “It may not be for everyone,” but stressed that the reinvention is necessary as the Post adapts to financial struggles and declining readership.
The New York Post has sought comment from the Washington Post. Marcus was not immediately available for comment.
Marcus is the latest high-profile Postie to depart the newspaper in recent months in the wake of Bezos’ aggressive intervention in the publication’s editorial decisions — most notably the move to block the editorial board from publishing an endorsement of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
In late February, Bezos announced that he would reorient the Washington Post editorial page so that it would tout “personal liberties and free markets.”
In a social media post, Bezos revealed that the move led to the resignation of opinions editor David Shipley.
Bezos added that the newspaper would also opine on “critical issues around reciprocity, national security, and the damaging and distorting effects if tariffs are used to pick winners and losers (exempting particular products or supply chain ‘ingredients’ if the beneficiary has political power, for example).”
Bezos’ decision prompted a reported 75,000 people to cancel their subscriptions, according to National Public Radio.
Last week, Oliver Darcy reported in his Status newsletter that Lewis, a former executive with the Wall Street Journal, enlisted the help of Free Beacon editor-in-chief Eliana Johnson in order to recruit more right-leaning reporters and editors to the Washington Post.
News of the meeting coincided with MSNBC’s announcement that Jackie Alemany, who covered politics at the Washington Post, was coming onboard as co-host of one of its “The Weekend” panel shows.
Since the start of the year, several WaPo staffers have departed, including Ben Terris, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Tony Romm, Isaac Stanley-Becker and Cristiano Lima-Strong.
