Philip Bennett, the Washington Post's managing editor, is stepping down this week after four years as the paper's second-ranking news executive, the paper reported.
Bennett was a candidate to be executive editor after Leonard Downie Jr announced that he was leaving last spring after 17 years in the job. But in July, Post publisher Katharine Weymouth chose Brauchli, less than three months after Rupert Murdoch had forced him out as editor of the Wall Street Journal. Weymouth and Brauchli had asked Bennett to stay on as managing editor.
The Post reported: [Link]
Bennett, 49, said that he had "a feeling that I'd been running for a long time as fast as I could go," and that the appointment of Marcus W. Brauchli as the paper's executive editor last summer "made me think this was a good time to do something new."
Bennett said he will work on a project about the future of journalism with Post Co. chief executive Donald Graham for a period of months and is undecided about staying with the company beyond that.
"I really thought it would not be appropriate for me to be managing editor of the paper and be looking for a new job," he said. "This is such an all-consuming job, I felt I couldn't plot my next step until I let go of this."
Brauchli said Bennett chose to step down on his own. "Phil has been an absolutely terrific colleague and enormously helpful to me in understanding The Post and making decisions," he said. Although the decision is understandable, Brauchli said, "I'm sorry he's leaving the newsroom."
The Wall Street Journal said one candidate for a key role is Raju Narisetti, who recently left his job as editor of Mint. Narisetti was a longtime colleague of Brauchli, who became executive editor of the Post in the fall after a career at the Wall Street Journal.
The Journal reported: [Link]
Both Mr. Brauchli and Mr. Narisetti had long careers at the Journal. Mr. Narisetti ran the paper's European edition until 2006 and Mr. Brauchli was managing editor of the Journal from May 2007 to April 2008. Mr. Brauchli said through a Post spokeswoman he "has not yet named anyone to succeed Phil or Jim."
Mr. Brauchli also could elevate a Post insider to managing editor, and said through the spokeswoman that it is "important to have someone who knows the Post well." One person who could be in the mix is Washingtonpost.com editor Liz Spayd, who has experience both online and in print.
There are myriad permutations to how the two jobs could be sliced. Part of Mr. Brauchli's mission is to further merge the print and online newsrooms. It was this transition that persuaded Mr. Brady to leave rather than accept a diminished role.
The Post won 10 Pulitzer Prizes during Bennett's tenure as managing editor, including six last year. It's also been a difficult time for the news industry, and Bennett, the Post said, helped manage the early retirement buyouts that have reduced the size of its newsroom staff.
