CNN
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The Washington Put up’s incoming chief govt and writer will begin the job with a large number on his arms.
William Lewis, the veteran media govt who is about to take the reins of the famend newspaper in January, will arrive to a newsroom in turmoil with sagging morale as contract negotiations between the Put up’s management and unionized workers stay deadlocked, tons of of workers depart, and questions are renewed about Lewis’ function in a decade-old cellphone hacking scandal.
On Wednesday, members of the union that represents roughly 1,000 newsroom workers stormed the Put up’s each day editorial assembly, clashing with govt editor Sally Buzbee and interim chief govt Patty Stonesifer over the contract talks stalemate, an individual conversant in the matter advised CNN.
The Washington Put up Guild, the union that represents staffers, has been negotiating with executives on a brand new contract for a 12 months and a half, nevertheless it has but to succeed in an settlement. Wages and workers reductions have remained a serious sticking level between the 2 sides, inflicting dismay amongst union members with the newspaper’s administration.
Including to the frustrations, The Put up, which aimed to slash its workforce with 240 voluntary buyouts by the top of the 12 months, has now exceeded its objective, prompting the newspaper’s administration to supply monetary incentives in a bid to retain some workers, the union advised its members this week in an electronic mail obtained by CNN.
An individual conversant in the matter advised CNN that the Put up had resorted to providing some staffers beneficiant bonuses to stay on the newspaper. Reached for remark, a spokesperson for the Washington Put up pointed to a memo despatched by Stonesifer to the newspaper’s workers on Tuesday emphasizing that “the variety of folks accepting the Voluntary Separation package deal has met our objective for 2024.” The spokesperson didn’t reply to additional questions regarding the presents to retain workers.
“The corporate needs us to consider that hitting its caps meant that 240 of our colleagues noticed the buyout as a present,” the Guild stated within the electronic mail. “They have been threatened with layoffs and made to really feel undervalued, disrespected and disposable.”
“And now, due to these threats, the corporate appears to have exceeded its buyout objective — and is now panicking,” it added.
The Put up’s administration has up to now rejected the union’s wage demand and has but to instantly affirm whether or not remaining staffers’ positions are protected from cuts, the union stated.
One Put up staffer on Thursday described the ambiance to CNN as “emotionally uncooked,” with quite a few departing workers sending goodbye notes. The staffer, who sympathized with the should be extra financially stringent, stated administration nevertheless had behaved in a “tone deaf” method as feelings coursed by means of the newsroom.
Hacking scandal cover-up?
Amid the union standoff, tensions on the Put up have been infected as soon as once more on Wednesday after a widely-read NPR article reported that Lewis, the newspaper’s 54-year-old incoming chief, allegedly assisted within the cover-up of “felony exercise when he was performing exterior public view” whereas working a decade in the past for Rupert Murdoch’s publishing empire.
The allegations stem from current lawsuits introduced in opposition to Information Corp.’s U.Okay. newspapers by Prince Harry and Hugh Grant, which allege that Lewis tried to hamper authorities officers and deleted incriminating emails to protect Murdoch’s retailers from the sweeping fallout from the Information of the World phone-hacking scandal.
Lewis, the previous editor of The Every day Telegraph and writer of The Wall Avenue Journal — the latter of which is owned by Murdoch’s Information Corp. — additionally allegedly tried to interact in injury management for Murdoch’s U.Okay. tabloid, The Solar.
Lewis addressed the allegations in an interview with the Put up final month. “I took a view very early on that I’m by no means going to speak about it,” he stated. “And it’s both proper or mistaken that I’ve carried out that.” He has beforehand denied the allegations.
Stonesifer, chatting with the Put up for a similar article, stated that Lewis “didn’t draw back” from making powerful selections over the course of his 30-year profession. “That sort of daring management was a part of what we have been really on the lookout for. And consider me, we did our homework to find out whether or not that management went too far,” she stated.
A spokesperson for the Put up didn’t touch upon the allegations.
Each the buyouts and NPR report come less than two weeks after 750 Put up staffers walked off the job in a historic 24-hour strike, protesting the workers cuts and making use of stress on administration to barter on a brand new contract in good religion.
On Thursday, departing staffers have been despatched an electronic mail from administration encouraging them to purchase official merchandise emblazoned with the Put up’s brand.
“Earlier than your final day at The Put up, be sure to cease by The Put up Retailer to benefit from particular worker pricing on merchandise, together with alumni gear,” it stated. “You won’t be able to entry discounted charges after your final day at The Put up.”
A spokesperson for the Put up advised CNN “the message was included in error and is now not a part of any Washington Put up worker departure communication.”
Nonetheless, the e-mail left staffers irritated, with some calling it “tone deaf” and “outrageous.”