Washington Post staffers are informed by Jeff Bezos that the standards will remain unchanged under the embattled publisher.

On Tuesday, Jeff Bezos, the owner of The Washington Post, publicly showed support for embattled CEO Will Lewis in a memo to staff members.

The Amazon founder, who bought the Washington Post for $250 million in 2013, has experienced turmoil in his newsroom recently after Lewis, who took over this year, announced that Sally Buzbee would step down as executive editor. Post reporters and their allies in the media have reported a series of negative stories about Lewis, who has faced criticism from employees over his journalism ethics, lack of diversity at the company, and his "three newsrooms" plan.

Despite Lewis's direct communication with staffers regarding the paper's financial problems, Bezos has declared that none of the proposed changes will compromise the paper's journalistic standards and ethics.

In a memo obtained by Planet Chronicle Digital, Bezos informed Washington Post staffers that the journalistic standards and ethics at The Post will remain unchanged.

"We must adapt to the changing world and evolve as a business. With your support, we will lead The Post into the future. However, as leaders of the newsroom, we must maintain our high standards at The Post. They cannot change or be lowered."

Bezos pledged to maintain the quality, ethics, and standards that employees believe in.

"Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, expressed gratitude for the continued efforts of the team, stating that their work contributes to the institution's significance and makes everyone proud."

Earlier this month, Lewis convened a heated meeting with staffers following the announcement of Buzbee's exit. In 2023, the paper suffered a loss of approximately $77 million and has experienced a 50% decline in audience since 2020.

""We need to reverse the situation, but let's not sugarcoat it. We're losing a significant amount of money. Our audience has decreased by half in recent years. No one is reading your content. That's the reality," Lewis said."

Matt Murray, the former Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief, will replace Buzbee in Lewis's newsroom until the 2024 election cycle, after which he will manage a new division focused on service and social media journalism.

The deputy editor of The Telegraph Media Group, Robert Winnett, will assume Murray's position and oversee the paper's critical coverage areas. Meanwhile, David Shipley will continue to serve as the editorial page editor as part of the three-part newsroom restructuring.

Buzbee was offered one of the newly created positions, but she declined.

The lack of diversity among the Post's leadership, with Lewis and his three top deputies being all White men, has caused concern among post employees.

Planet Chronicle Digital’s David Rutz contributed to this report.