WaPo CEO Will Lewis Tries to Apologize to Staff in Late-Day Memo

Washington Post CEO Will Lewis apologized to staffers in a newsroom memo late Friday, acknowledging he needed to be more transparent with his staff after back-to-back reports showed he tried to kill stories related to his alleged role in covering up a U.K. phone-hacking scandal.

“Time for some humility from me,” Lewis wrote to staffers in a memo obtained by The Daily Beast. “I need to improve how well I listen and how well I communicate so that we all agree more clearly where urgent improvements are needed and why.”

Lewis did not explicitly address the legal claims of his alleged role in covering up the Murdoch empire’s phone-hacking, but he noted how “trust has been lost because of scars from the past and the back-and-forth from this week.”

“Let’s leave those behind and start presuming the best of intent,” he wrote. “If we do that, you will see where we are going in a different light.”

His memo came a day after a torrent of reports, including those by The Daily Beast and the Post itself, showed staffers were reeling after Lewis reportedly tried to squash stories in the Post and NPR over the U.K. case. Lewis offered a mild mea culpa to the newsroom, offering it a chance to question him on anything during his “Say It” sessions next week.

“We have sent invitations for Say It sessions next week to discuss the Third Newsroom,” Lewis wrote, “so I can answer questions you have about that or anything else on your mind.”