• by Ray Schultz , July 13, 2025

The Washington Post newsroom is in turmoil again, judging by two events last week:

1. Publisher Will Lewis urged newsroom staffers to consider taking buyouts if they cannot support the Post’s agenda.
2. Columnist Joe Davidson resigned over the killing of one of his columns.

The Lewis memo as published on social media by Ben Mullin states that the Post is “reimagining our Opinion offering to champion timeless American values, tackling traditional subscription fatigue head-on through flexible access; launching new, engaging product improvements such as From the Source; and embracing AI rapidly across all of our workflows. “

However, Lewis acknowledges that “our chosen path is not for everyone,” and asks those who do not feel aligned with the plan to consider availing themselves of the Post’s voluntary separation program. 

While the two events were not necessarily linked, Davidson decided to step down when the paper killed one of his columns, reports state. 

Davidson decided to quit when the paper killed a column deemed too critical of Donald Trump.

“For me, the cost became too great when a Federal Insider column I wrote was killed because it was deemed too opinionated under an unwritten and inconsistently enforced policy, which I had not heard of previously,” Davidson wrote.

The column reportedly was critical of President Donald Trump.