The Washington Post’s executive editor Marty Baron announced his planned retirement in an internal memo Tuesday.
Baron, 66, will retire next month after making a commitment to remain at the company through the 2020 presidential election. Baron wrote in the memo that he feels “ready to move on” after spending significant time changing and revamping the newsroom.
“From the moment I arrived at The Post, I have sought to make an enduring contribution while giving back to a profession that has meant so much to me and that serves to safeguard democracy,” Baron wrote. “It has been my honor to work alongside hundreds of journalists who make The Post an indispensable institution. I look forward to the superb journalism that is in The Post’s future and to staying in touch.”
Under Baron’s leadership, The Post won 10 Pulitzer Prizes and the newsroom grew in numbers. Baron “significantly expanded our coverage areas, inspired great reporting, managed an awesome digital transformation” and grew “the number of readers and subscribers to unprecedented levels” throughout his eight years at the company, The Post’s CEO and publisher Fred Ryan wrote.
Marty Baron, the editor who transformed the Washington Post into an international powerhouse and led the news organization to win 10 Pulitzer Prizes, is retiring next month. https://t.co/qp5FPrOpXE
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 26, 2021
Baron’s decision to retire was not hasty and Ryan noted that he was “thoughtful in his planning,” allowing the company “to carefully discuss the timing of his retirement as well as the selection of a worthy successor.” A new executive editor has not yet been named. (RELATED: WaPo Fact Checkers End Trump ‘False Claims Project,’ No ‘Plans’ To Start One For Biden)
The soon-to-be former executive editor praised the company, its readers and those he worked with. Baron also took time to warn those at The Post about the future, urging the company not to “lose sight of how hard our gains as a commercial enterprise were to achieve.”
“In 2013, when our outlook was dire, we were given a second chance. We took it, engineering a turnaround with focus and creativity. Keep at it. Third chances are rare, particularly in a field that savagely punishes complacency and hubris,” Baron wrote.
“We always have more to learn. We must listen generously to all. We owe the public rigorous, thorough and honorable reporting and then an honest, unflinching account of what we discover,” he added.