Washington Put up opinion editor Adam O’Neal speaks out about paper’s challenges

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EXCLUSIVE - It is not each day a younger journalist is entrusted to fully overhaul the editorial pages of a significant newspaper they only joined. However that is the state of affairs 33-year-old Adam O'Neal has discovered himself in at The Washington Put up.

"I simply really feel an amazing duty to get this proper," O'Neal instructed Fox News Digital in his first interview since turning into The Put up's new opinion editor.

O'Neal joined The Put up in July after serving as a correspondent for the British outlet The Economist and as an editorial web page author for The Wall Road Journal. He was "instantly intrigued" by the viral mission statement the paper's billionaire proprietor, Jeff Bezos, specified by February, saying The Put up's editorial pages would promote "private liberties and free markets" going ahead and vowed to not publish items opposing these rules. Bezos' edict led to the fast resignation of O'Neal's predecessor, David Shipley.

The core rules of non-public liberties and free markets had been ideas O'Neal thought had been "underserved within the present media surroundings."

"With the ability to begin with that, because the North Star, however have the power to construct round that as an mental basis, understanding that there is nonetheless an enormous room inside free markets and private liberties for a sturdy debate about the way forward for America was vastly interesting to me," O'Neal stated. "And so, once I began talking to The Put up, I used to be in a position to be very clear and direct about what I believed this implies and we sort of went from there. And I used to be very delighted to see, as I realized extra in regards to the position and the imaginative and prescient for the long run, that I used to be aligned with it and was simply very passionate about attending to work on altering this place."

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Adam O'Neal spoke with Fox Information Digital for his first interview as The Washington Put up's opinion editor. (Louis Palu/ The Washington Put up)

O'Neal calls the present state of the editorial pages a "work in progress" and that reshaping them will take time. That features redefining the voice of the editorial board, which he says remains to be creating.

"So in the future we may be saying, ‘Hey, you understand, the president has an excellent level about Bagram Air Base,’ proper? On the different time, we would reward Democrats who're standing as much as [New York City mayoral candidate Zohran] Mamdani and his radicalism. And on the identical time, we'll criticize the Trump administration once we assume they get it fallacious. So, if anybody thinks that our mission right here is about one president or simply tactical partisan strikes, I feel that is actually short-sighted, they usually're simply not studying or watching or listening to us very intently, frankly," O'Neal stated.

The Put up's pivot, nevertheless, would not come with out danger. Bezos' editorial announcement ignited backlash from the left, fueling resignations amongst staffers and an enormous wave of subscription cancellations, fallout just like when Bezos quashed The Post's endorsement of then-Vice President Kamala Harris simply days earlier than the November election.

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The Washington Put up's billionaire proprietor Jeff Bezos sparked liberal backlash for halting the paper's endorsement of then-Vice President Kamala Harris throughout the election and for ordering its editorial pages to advertise "private liberties and free markets." (Karwai Tang/WireImage; Eric Baradat/AFP by way of Getty Photographs)

"Our readers are overwhelmingly liberal, proper?" O'Neal conceded. "They usually're all overwhelmingly positioned in blue states. And just some blue states. They usually're over-represented on the coasts. And so, a method to take a look at it might be to say, 'Nicely, in the event you're non-partisan, and you've got a extremely partisan readership, they might be offended by that.' And perhaps that is true. However trying ahead as I rebuild, I actually simply see it as a chance to broaden our attain."

He continued, "And albeit, lots of people do not belief The Put up. They usually do not belief the mainstream media extra broadly. And so my mission is to rent the varieties of individuals from all through the U.S. with completely different sorts of backgrounds, mental range, who can enchantment and rebuild that belief. And I feel that plenty of people have a poor view of The Put up as a result of they do not really feel that they have been nicely served by it."

"So is it attainable that extremely partisan readers will not prefer it once we're not only a lining on one facet on each concern? I do not assume that was precisely at all times the case, but when there are individuals who had a notion that subscribing to The Put up was like a type of activism and that they needed to do it to oppose a selected politician or celebration now that we're opening up our lands and writing extra extensively in a nonpartisan means, I do not know, perhaps you may lose people who means, however I feel the upside of the place the expansion is by interesting to many extra Individuals in rebuilding that belief, to me, that is a reasonably clear resolution."

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O'Neal expressed pleasure in direction of constructing out his staff as he goals to search out individuals "exterior of the standard locations" with completely different skilled backgrounds, floating the thought of hiring veterans or a commodities dealer versus solely counting on Ivy League graduates and esteemed economists.

"I've a journalism diploma, I am sorry to say," O'Neal cheekily admitted. "So some individuals can sort of handle to get by means of [journalism school] OK, however we additionally actually simply wish to solid that extensive internet, and I feel it will change into, over time, a strategic benefit for us to get the voices and the minds that had been missed by means of the standard mind-set about journalism."

David Shipley stepped down as The Washington Put up's opinion editor in February after Bezos introduced the paper's pivot within the editorial pages. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Put up by way of Getty Photographs)

What counts for range in newsrooms is probably topic for debate. Former Washington Put up columnist Karen Attiah, who was fired earlier this month for her social media posts about Charlie Kirk's assassination, stated she was "the final remaining Black full-time opinion columnist" and that Washington, D.C. "not has a paper that displays the [diverse] individuals it serves" (Attiah has since sent a legal threat to The Post , alleging she was wrongly terminated).

Whereas he declined to touch upon personnel issues involving Attiah, O'Neal challenged the notion that her ouster means The Put up's editorial staff lacks range.

"We're going to consider each potential rent equally. It is the standard of their journalism, the background and the data that they'll convey to the job," O'Neal stated.

"I do not assume the opinion part is ever going to be in a spot the place now we have quotas, and we're getting individuals simply to get individuals as a result of they've some immutable attribute," he added. "So, I am going to by no means rent somebody due to their race or gender or something like that."

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The final a number of years at The Washington Put up have been turbulent between important monetary losses, the exodus of expertise that has fled to competing retailers, and low morale within the newsroom. Will Lewis, the British media government who will quickly method the two-year mark as The Put up's writer and CEO, has ruffled feathers all through his tenure on the paper for his management model and his brash method to robust conversations. He famously told staff in June 2024: "Individuals are not studying your stuff. I can’t sugarcoat it anymore." Lewis would later stroll again these remarks.

O'Neal referred to as Lewis a "unbelievable journalist" "who's actually rattling good at his job."

"I got here into this job with super respect and likewise confidence in Will, and it is solely grown," O'Neal stated. "He is been an awesome mentor, and we're fully aligned in regards to the course of journey. And now we have the identical values in the case of journalism and the place we wish to take The Put up. Will has been completely unbelievable to work for."

O'Neal says Washington Put up CEO and writer Will Lewis is "unbelievable to work for." (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Put up by way of Getty Photographs)

O'Neal stated he hadn't learn a lot of the vital reporting on Lewis earlier than becoming a member of The Put up. He as an alternative relied on colleagues who had labored with Lewis at different British publications. They spoke extremely of him.

"I'd say he is met my excessive expectations — not that it is incumbent on Will to satisfy my expectations, however I simply assume actually extremely of the man and, you understand, going into the job I did, and I nonetheless do," he stated.

The Washington Put up's editorial strikes from Bezos have been seen by liberal critics as appeasing President Donald Trump , however the "Democracy Dies in Darkness" paper is in good firm. Different legacy information organizations have been accused of bending the knee, like ABC and CBS settling multi-million-dollar lawsuits with the president. Trump's antagonistic relationship with the press has solely ratcheted up throughout his second time period between his administration brawling with The Related Press over "Gulf of America," his legal professionals taking intention at The New York Occasions and The Wall Road Journal, and his renewed feud with ABC following Jimmy Kimmel's feedback in regards to the Kirk assassination.

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At a time when his media colleagues are decrying threats to free speech, O'Neal would not appear involved.

"For me, it is about our journalism. I do not actually take into consideration any noise exterior of that," O'Neal stated. "We're simply offering probably the most correct, attention-grabbing and compelling journalism for America. And also you'd go loopy in the event you simply sat round interested by how will subscribers or a politician or whoever reply to it. You simply must do what you assume is correct. And that is how I take into consideration my journalism."

O'Neal dismissed issues from the media trade about President Donald Trump and his numerous threats in opposition to information organizations. (Getty Photographs)

A number of of The Put up's most high-profile columnists had taken buyouts over the summer season (Jonathan Capehart, Catherine Rampell, Philip Bump simply to call just a few). O'Neal stays optimistic that the staffers who selected to remain are actually onboard with the brand new mission he's tasked to champion.

"We do not need individuals right here who're simply type of resigned to the adjustments and, ‘Oh OK, perhaps I can stay with this,’ however who're genuinely enthusiastic about it," O'Neal stated.

"I simply got here from an editorial board assembly this morning. It was energetic. We're having debates, we're all attending to know one another higher. And so everyone that I am interacting with is fired up. And look, the place remains to be gonna proceed to vary, proper? We're nonetheless engaged on restructuring it, altering our workflows," he continued. "So, it is ever evolving. However in my nook of The Put up, the opinion part, I really feel nothing however momentum and nice vitality. And we have been very clear with everyone in regards to the course of journey, and I am nothing however enthusiastic about it."

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Not solely does O'Neal must implement what he calls The Put up's "distinct voice" on the editorial pages, he additionally has to convey the opinion part to the twenty first century, acknowledging it was "not the place it wanted to be" within the ever-evolving media panorama.

"Personally, I like print newspapers. I benefit from the tactile expertise of studying a paper, the way it's organized. However some individuals wish to get their information by means of TikTok… Some individuals want YouTube, podcasts," O'Neal stated. "And I feel, frankly, we're enjoying catch-up as a result of we have not accomplished sufficient on that, and we're placing an enormous quantity of sources, time and vitality into any piece of journalism we do ultimately ought to be capable to be offered to you within the format that you simply want."

Whereas he says turning into The Put up's opinion editor "is the problem of my profession," O'Neal insists he is "having plenty of enjoyable."

"My objective is to raise the individuals round me and to make their careers as enjoyable and attention-grabbing as attainable, as a result of I do know plenty of people are, you understand, not so thrilled with journalists. And I feel oftentimes with cause. There's been plenty of failures on this trade to tell the general public. And so I simply see this as an opportunity to get it proper," O'Neal stated.

Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox Information Digital. Story ideas may be despatched to joseph.wulfsohn@fox.com and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.