Tension at The Washington Post

Marty Baron Made The Post Great Again. Now, the News Is Changing.


When I asked, repeatedly, for an interview with Mr. Baron, The Post’s spokeswoman, Kris Coratti, instead sent me 4,000 words of excerpts from his many speeches about journalism. The speeches reflected his sophisticated articulation of the importance of open-minded, rigorous and brave journalism. But the speech excerpts didn’t include the credo that stuck with me from a recent memo written by Mr. Baron.

“The Post is more than a collection of individuals who wish to express themselves,” Mr. Baron wrote. “The reputation of The Post must prevail over any one individual’s desire for expression.”

This principle reflects Mr. Baron’s frequently expressed frustration that his reporters’ tweets could undermine The Post’s journalism. It sometimes seems that Mr. Baron is standing athwart Twitter yelling, “Stop!” and nobody’s listening.

 

I suppose the Times is one of the few places that would do this story anymore, but it coming from the Times also should be considered. There always has been a rivalry there.

 

That the immersive 1st Person, Social Media, Web Log generation is now old enough to hold these jobs is the battle Marty Baron - and every other editor - is fighting.

Writing without a point of view is counter-intuitive to them, and the third-person authorial 'view from nowhere' is considered with suspicion.

 

Writing without the correct idenitity politics, at any rate.

The POV tends to recycle the same “so, yeah, you may not have known this so let me educate you” tone and talking points. The “explainer.”

 

Standing athwart ... that writer felt as confident as Costanza did using anathema.

 

it's a borrow from William F Buckley

 

So not even original either.

 

A retweet of a sexist joke - which resulted in a suspension - has turned into a lot of tension at The Post.

Washington Post executive editor attempts to rein in newsroom amid infighting: 'We will enforce our policies' - CNN

 

Any newsroom in any media I have ever observed has been a hotbed of bitching and personal feuds. Didn't mean the people there didn't like their jobs, just the way journalists are built. But it's not a good idea to take one's bitches public. Arguments with your boss are the place for that.

 

To be fair, I think the suspension was more about the online tussle between Dave Weigel and Felicia Sonmez than the retweet of the sexist joke.

Here's Buzbee's note: