British efforts to save the Washington Post expose culture clash

“Nobody reads your stuff” is not the message any journalist wants to hear from their new boss – especially from a foreign interloper.

However, it was one of the first messages delivered to reporters at the Washington Post by Sir Will Lewis, the former Telegraph Media executive brought in to save the austere newspaper of the American establishment.

This month, Sally Buzbee stepped down as editor-in-chief

CHUCK ZOELLER/AP

The Post, famous for stories such as the Watergate scandal that toppled President Nixon, has endured a difficult period under editor-in-chief Sally Buzbee, who stepped down earlier this month.

Lewis’ appointment as publisher and CEO this year is the latest in a slew of Fleet Street talent to cross the Atlantic, according to the Wall Street Journal’s editor.