Opinion: Three Strikes So Why Is WaPo CEO Will Lewis Not Out?

The news that Washington Post editor Sally Buzbee had resigned under pressure earlier this week was disconcerting enough for the Post’s 950 or so journalists and an untold number of its readers. But the revelations that have followed since then are considerably more important and damaging than the departure of one editor.

The New York Times reported Wednesday evening that one of the precipitating events in Buzbee’s exit was a brief clash with her and new boss, Post publisher Will Lewis. The dispute was over an unpublished news story involving Lewis’ work for Rupert Murdoch after the phone-hacking scandals at Murdoch’s British tabloids more than a decade ago. The Post was about to report a basic fact: that an English judge overseeing a lawsuit filed by victims of the hacking, including Prince Harry, was seeking to add Lewis’ name to a list of executives allegedly involved in efforts to cover up the hacking. According to the Times, Lewis sought to dissuade Buzbee from publishing the story, and criticized her for “a lapse in judgment” when she said she would do so despite his guidance. The Post reported Thursday that Buzbee had a similarly tense exchange with Lewis about another story about the case in March.

Strike one: If the Times and Post accounts are accurate—Lewis has denied trying to spike the stories and denies any hacking cover-up—his actions constitute blatant self-dealing and the corrupt exercise of power.

Read more at The Daily Beast.