The Washington Post publisher disclosed the paper lost $77 million last year. Here’s his plan to turn it around

On Wednesday, Will Lewis, publisher and chief executive, outlined to staffers his vision for shepherding the iconic newspaper into a financially prosperous future.

Editor’s Note: A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. Sign up for the daily digest chronicling the evolving media landscape here. On Wednesday, Will Lewis, the newly minted publisher and chief executive of The Washington Post, strode on stage before gathered staffers at the company’s D.C. headquarters to outline his vision for shepherding the iconic newspaper into a financially prosperous future. Dressed in a navy blue blazer and button down shirt, along with his trademark sneakers (the Brit is known to be partial to the casual footwear), Lewis first delivered the cold hard reality to his assembled workforce. He candidly explained the depths of The Post’s recent financial woes, revealing that it had lost $77 million over the last year and seen a dramatic 50% drop in audience since the highs of 2020. “To speak candidly,” Lewis told staffers at the top of the 90-minute meeting, “we are in a hole, and we have been for some time.” But Lewis said he has a plan to rescue the renowned newspaper that has broken some of the biggest stories of our time and turned its most influential journalists into household names. That plan, officially dubbed the “build it” phase of the turnaround project (which follows the “say it” and “fix it” phases), was defined by a pyramid shared with staffers in a Powerpoint presentation. The pyramid, aimed at helping employees visualize new business opportunities, showed the traditional subscription membership stacked along with new subscription and payment offerings for readers.