Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray addressed the “human cost” of this month’s mass layoffs during an interview on Wednesday, but stressed that the cuts were necessary to “get the house in order” and allow the Post to grow.
He also said the paper’s billionaire owner Jeff Bezos was “committed to a long-term future for the Post.”
“He’s a believer in fair news,” Murray said about Bezos. “He’s a believer in bringing information out to people. He’s not as interested in sort of serving just the lead audiences, but he wants average people to see news, and what he wants is for us to be relevant and lively in people’s lives.”
Murray kicked off Semafor’s “Restoring Trust in Media” summit, a media conference focused on how news executives and personalities are navigating an industry that’s battled abysmal trust levels. Other speakers include Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner, “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie and Knight Foundation CEO Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, among others.
Murray and interim CEO Jeff D’Onofrio are trying to steady the ship following the layoffs of more than 300 Post staffers and the tumultuous two-year run of former CEO Will Lewis, who exited days after the cuts.
Since the layoffs, Murray has tried to absorb much of the criticism directed at Bezos. He has given interviews to multiple outlets to defend this month’s layoffs, arguing they set the Post up for a financially viable future.
“There’s a bit of risk in it, but I think we made very smart choices,” Murray said on Wednesday. “Standing still would not have been an option. So what we’re aiming to do is get to break even.”
