Brauchli appointment could define Weymouth's Washington Post tenure

Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth made the expected official on July 7, naming former Wall Street Journal managing editor Marcus Brauchli the Post's executive editor effective September 8. Brauchli, 47, is not a choice from the inside, as was previous Post executive editor Len Downie, but he is a signal that Weymouth is planning to shake up the newspaper's status quo, says The New York Times' Richard Perez-Pena. Expect Brauchli, adds the New York Observer's John Koblin, to quickly tell staffers how he plans to fix the newspaper's print-online divide and “acknowledge that he's never stepped foot in Washington other than for fancy dinners at the Ritz-Carlton.” Jack Shafer advises Brauchli, who began his career taking “animal of the week” photos, donate his Journal payout, then merge the Post's print and online staffs. Editor & Publisher's Joe Strupp notes that the choice will define Weymouth's tenure, since the last two Post executive editors stayed on the masthead for 43 years.

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