Ms. Buzbee is the executive editor and senior vice president of AP.
The Washington Post newspaper headquarters building on K Street in Washington DC. (Photo: AFP / Eric Baradat)
Sally Buzbee broke the glass ceiling at The Washington Post, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos.
For the first time in 114 years since its founding, The Post will have a woman as executive editor, announced the newspaper on Tuesday.
See more: What is the glass ceiling that limits women’s leadership roles?
The journalist who will lead The Washington Post’s newsroom comes from The Associated Press (AP).
At AP, Sally Buzbee served as executive editor and vice president since the beginning of 2017.
In this position, the journalist was in charge of the coordination and global production of news worldwide.
In charge of it were almost 250 newsrooms around the world that provide information to more than 15,000 media.
Sally Buzbee of the Associated Press named executive editor of The Washington Post, the first woman to lead the newsroom https://t.co/ZbmtLTpKeU
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 11, 2021
The former AP executive editor will be the first woman in The Washington Post’s 114-year history to lead its newsroom.
Ms. Buzbee will take office on June 1, to fill the place that Martin Baron held for eight years until he retired last February.
“It is exciting to join this organization at a time of growth and innovation,” Ms. Buzbee said upon her appointment.
Although The Washington Post has had great women journalists, none broke the glass ceiling before to occupy an executive management position.
The general direction of The Washington Post was historically occupied by men, some with indelible marks at the head of the newspaper.
Among these stands out the name of Ben Bradlee, who directed The Post during its coverage of the Watergate investigation in the 1970s.
Another recent case that accompanies the appointment of Sally Buzbee is that of Alessandra Galloni, appointed editor-in-chief of Reuters, the first in the news agency’s 170-year history.
The arrival of Buzbee opens new challenges for The Washington Post that aim to consolidate a “courageous” journalism that spreads in the United States and other regions of the world.
Currently, the US newspaper maintains newsrooms in 26 countries and announced the opening of offices in Bogotá, Colombia, and in Sydney, Australia. (Reuters and AFP)
