From a Washington Post story by Elahe Izadi headlined “Washington Post names Matea Gold as new managing editor”:
Matea Gold will become a managing editor of The Washington Post, executive editor Sally Buzbee announced.
She replaces Steven Ginsberg, who left The Post last year to take a position as top editor of the Athletic, a sports site owned by the New York Times. In her new job, Gold will oversee several departments, including the paper’s National and Metro staff.
She joins the masthead alongside two other managing editors — Justin Bank and Krissah Thompson — and senior managing editor Cameron Barr. The promotion of Gold, 48, means that women will make up the majority of the masthead, with Buzbee at the top.
“Matea is one of the most respected journalists and beloved colleagues here at The Post, and I am thrilled that she is stepping into a greater leadership role for us,” Buzbee said. “Her vision, ambition and commitment to excellence will benefit teams across our newsroom.”
The Post interviewed both external and internal candidates to replace Ginsberg before Gold was hired. She will officially step into the job in September.
Gold joined The Post in 2013 after a 17-year career at the Los Angeles Times. She has had a rapid rise through the ranks of editorial leadership, starting as a national politics reporter, then running the national politics enterprise and investigations team for four years during the tumultuous Trump administration years.
She said it was “such a privilege and responsibility” to move into the role. “I really believe in The Post — we have exceptionally talented journalists. I also believe the work we do is needed more than ever.”
“My biggest priority is to continue to elevate our journalism across the board, and I think what makes The Post distinct is original, revelatory reporting, and that has the power to really change how people see the world,” she added. “That can come in many different story formats, but at its core it all shares the same DNA. We have to approach every story with curiosity, with rigor, with judgment.”
In her new role, she also wants to explore ways to “pull back the curtain on our work” and show “the integrity and care that goes into the stories we tell,” to reinforce readers’ trust.
“We’re in a moment in the media where we really need to reckon with the distrust that’s out there,” she said.
Gold has been in charge of The Post’s sprawling National department — which encompasses everything from politics to health and beyond — since January 2022. She helped to create The Post’s democracy team and oversaw an investigation into the impact of AR-15 weapons in America.
Under her one-year tenure, her department staff’s work earned two Pulitzer Prizes, including for national reporting.
Her promotion also comes at a time of flux for The Post. The organization has seen several high-profile departures from the National staff for rivals such as the New York Times, including Eli Saslow, whose work at The Post was recently awarded a Pulitzer for feature writing.
“It’s been hard to see people that are such an important part of this place leave, but a lot of incredibly talented journalists have chosen to stay and believe in The Post,” Gold said, noting that she has also hired 54 new people for the national staff in the past year. “Change is just part of what is happening across many industries right now.”
Elahe Izadi is a reporter covering media and also co-hosts daily flagship podcast “Post Reports.” She joined The Post in 2014 as a general assignment reporter, and has covered pop culture, Congress, demographics and breaking news.
Speak Your Mind