Robert Winnett, the editor chosen to run the Washington Post, will not take the post after reports raised questions about his links to unethical newsgathering practices in Britain.
Mr. Winnett will remain at the Daily Telegraph, where he is deputy editor, according to emails sent Friday to employees of the London-based paper and The Post staff.
“I am delighted to report that Rob Wynnett has decided to stay with us,” read a message to Telegraph staff from the paper’s top editor, Chris Evans. “As you all know, he’s a talented kid and their loss is our gain.”
Will Lewis, chief executive of The Post, confirmed the news in an email to staff.
“I am saddened to share with you that Robert Winnett has retired as editor of the Washington Post,” Mr. Lewis wrote. “Rob has my utmost respect and is an incredibly talented editor and journalist.” He said The Post will conduct a search to fill that role.
Mr. Winnett did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Mr Winnett gained notoriety as an unassuming young man whose relentless pursuit of the scoop earned him the nickname ‘Rat Boy’. But his appointment to the Post’s top editing job has been jeopardized by recent reports in the New York Times and the Washington Post detailing his connection to a private investigator who acknowledged using unethical means to obtain information.
The connection, first revealed by the Times and confirmed by The Post, raised alarm bells among Washington Post reporters, many of whom said privately they believed he was an unworthy candidate to run one of America’s preeminent newsrooms.
On Friday, several Washington Post reporters told the Times that they were relieved Mr. Winnett would not be leading the newsroom.
“Rat Boy is out!” a reporter said in a message.
Mr Winnett had been expected to take over as editor of The Post after the US presidential election in November. Matt Murray, the former Wall Street Journal editor, is set to replace Sally Buzbee, The Post’s previous top editor, in an interim role until then.
In his email, Mr Lewis said Mr Murray would continue as editor of The Post until after the US election. He said The Post planned to create a new division focused on so-called service journalism sometime in the first quarter of next year. Mr Murray was set to take over the new department at the time Mr Winnett’s appointment was announced.
Mr Winnett’s decision to step down is a major setback for Will Lewis, The Post’s chief executive, who hired the British editor in a shake-up of The Post’s editors. Ms Buzbee resigned after Mr Lewis undertook a dramatic reorganization of the paper that would have sidelined her.
Mr Lewis has also come under fire in recent days after The Times reported he clashed with Ms Buzbee over a decision to cover up a court development that implicated him in a phone hacking case. (Mr. Lewis denied pressuring Ms. Buzbee.) The next day, an NPR reporter said that Mr. Lewis had promised him an exclusive interview in exchange for ignoring a story about phone hacking. In response, Mr. Lewis called that reporter an “activist” and acknowledged that he had an off-the-record conversation with him.
Still more revelations came to light about Mr. Lewis and Mr. Winnett. Last week, The New York Times reported that Mr. Lewis and Mr. Winnett were said to have used fraudulently obtained files in news articles in the Sunday Times newspaper in London. The next day, the Washington Post followed up with a 3,000-word investigation of Mr. Winnett that traced his ties to John Ford, a private investigator who acknowledged using unethical methods to obtain large exclusives.
With Mr. Wynette no longer joining The Post, it remains to be seen who will lead the newsroom on a permanent basis. The Post has conducted a typically lengthy search to fill the top editor position, culminating in an interview with The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos, and its CEO. Mr. Winnett’s appointment was somewhat unconventional by Post standards: Mr. Lewis first told Ms. Buzbee that she would be allowed to choose an editor to run The Post’s news operations, then informed her that Mr. Winnett would join The Post. .
