Washington Post CEO to step down

Kierra Frazier
·2 min read
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Fred Ryan, publisher and CEO of The Washington Post, is stepping down, the news organization announced in a statement on Monday.

Ryan will remain the publisher of The Post until August, the statement said, and Patty Stonesifer has been appointed interim CEO.

Ryan has served as publisher and CEO since his appointment by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and owner of The Post, nine years ago. Ryan is leaving to lead the newly formed Center on Public Civility at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the statement said.

“I feel a strong sense of urgency in my next steps to address the decline in civility and respectful dialogue in our political process,” Ryan said in the statement. “I am grateful for the opportunity to lead the new Center on Public Civility which will play an important role in support of our democracy.”

Ryan, 68, helped found POLITICO 2007, and served as CEO until joining the Post in 2014. He served as a senior adviser in the White House during the Reagan administration, and later became chief of staff to former President Ronald Reagan. From 1995 until 2014, Ryan was President and COO of Allbritton Communications, a group of broadcast and cable television networks that included NewsChannel 8, a popular local cable channel serving Washington, Maryland and Virginia.

Ryan leaves The Washington Post at a time when the industry has been hit with a series of layoffs and the shuttering of news outlets, such as BuzzFeed News. Ryan told The Post in an interview that his departure “has nothing to do with that.”

The Washington Post laid off 20 newsroom employees in January.

Stonesifer starts her position as interim CEO on Monday.

“I have had the privilege over my career of leading great organizations with a laser focus on serving their mission and their communities,” she said in a statement. “I have both respect and passion for the mission and the journalism of The Washington Post — one of the greatest newsrooms in the world — and I am delighted to join this team in supporting the values and sustaining the work of this important institution.”

Kelly Garrity contributed to this report.