Reuters hires former Washpost editor Sally Buzbee to run North America

Buzbee, 59, was Executive Editor of the Washington Post for three years and is a veteran of the Associated Press, having previously risen to be Executive Editor and Senior Vice President after a long career as a reporter and editor.

Her appointment was announced by Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni, who said on Monday that Reuters veteran Kieran Murray, who ran the United States and Canada for five years, was moving to a new role as the top editor of the agency’s live events business.

Buzbee left the Post after disagreeing with a reorganisation in the midst of the U.S. election campaign by the paper’s new CEO, William Lewis, which would have included a new role for her which was effectively a demotion.

She will join Reuters in December, in time to lead coverage of Donald Trump’s second presidency beginning in January.  

Buzbee, the first woman to lead the Washington Post, oversaw coverage that won several Pulitzer Prizes. At AP she ran Middle East coverage for five years including the Iraq war and was also Washington bureau chief for the 2012 and 2016 elections.

She was the agency’s top editor from 2017 to 2021.

"I am honoured to join Reuters, an organization renowned for its commitment to journalistic excellence," Buzbee said.

Galloni said in a note to staff: “I have admired Sally for years, and I am so excited that she will be joining the Reuters family in this key role. Her journalistic chops, her management experience, her global understanding, and her positive and pragmatic approach are just what we need in this time of upheaval for the world and for the news industry.”

The Post has been roiled by controversy since the paper’s owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, appointed Lewis as Publisher and CEO in January.

Bezos caused deep concern among the paper’s journalists and many subscribers when he instructed the Post not to endorse any candidate in the presidential election. Some 200,000 readers cancelled their subscriptions. ■