Washington Post Publisher Will Lewis Allegedly Tried to Suppress UK Hacking Scandal Story

William Lewis, the newly appointed publisher and chief executive of The Washington Post, has been accused of attempting to suppress a story about his alleged involvement in a UK phone hacking scandal coverup. According to NPR media reporter David Folkenflik, Lewis offered him an exclusive interview in exchange for not publishing the article.

The scandal, which dates back a decade, initially involved Rupert Murdoch’s “News of the World” tabloid and has been recently revived through a lawsuit filed by Prince Harry and other celebrities like Guy Ritchie and Hugh Grant. During the original scandal, Lewis was a senior executive at Murdoch’s News Corporation and has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Folkenflik reported that in December, after Lewis had been named publisher and chief executive of the Post, Lewis proposed an exclusive interview about the Post’s future if Folkenflik agreed to drop the story about Lewis’ alleged involvement in the hacking coverup.

“In several conversations, Lewis repeatedly — and heatedly — offered to give me an exclusive interview about the Post’s future, as long as I dropped the story about the allegations,” Folkenflik reported. A spokesperson for Lewis confirmed the offer, Folkenflik added.

Despite Lewis’ attempts, NPR published the story in late December with the headline “New ‘Washington Post’ CEO accused of Murdoch tabloid hacking cover-up,” featuring a 2011 photo of Lewis with Murdoch.

The controversy surrounding Lewis escalated when The New York Times reported that he had recently clashed with former Washington Post executive editor Sally Buzbee over publishing a story in May about the hacking scandal that implicated him. Lewis reportedly told Buzbee that the story did not merit coverage, but she proceeded with publication. This disagreement allegedly contributed to Buzbee’s sudden departure, which was announced by the Post on Sunday night. She was immediately replaced by former Wall Street Journal editor Matt Murray.

Lewis praised Buzbee in a statement, saying, “Sally is an incredible leader and a supremely talented media executive who will be sorely missed. I wish her all the best going forward.” Notably, Buzbee did not issue a farewell note to the staff.

Post employees, speaking anonymously, reported a decline in newsroom morale following Buzbee’s departure and the publication of reports about Lewis’ alleged attempts to quash the story. “It’s increasingly tense,” one staffer commented. “He didn’t do himself any favors with some of his flippant remarks. Now you add in the potential for quid pro quos, and there are ethics issues at play, too.”

This news comes shortly after Lewis revealed a plan to revive the struggling newspaper, which he stated had lost $77 million over the past year and experienced a 50% decline in audience traffic since 2020. “To speak candidly,” Lewis told staffers, “we are in a hole, and we have been for some time.”