The News
Washington Post opinion writers have mixed opinions of their new boss, David Shipley, after he delivered a mandate to write less and encouraged suggestions that opinion columns could at times be replaced by, oh, short poems.
Shipley beat out columnist Ruth Marcus for the job after the longtime opinion editor, Fred Hiatt, died suddenly in 2021. His mandate, two employees told Semafor, is to blow the place up. Some staff were taken aback by suggestions in a recent brainstorming meeting that the paper could publish editorials in the form of Instagram comments or haikus.
The View From The Washington Post
A spokesperson for the paper said that readers will see the opinion section evolve, and the recent meeting with staff was part of Shipley’s desire to be “relentless about exploring fun and important ideas.”