Washington Post Democracy Editor Griff Witte Exits After 23 Years
Griff Witte, the Washington Post’s democracy editor, is exiting the paper after 23 years. He will join The Atlantic as its managing editor, overseeing its growing politics team, with a special focus on government accountability and investigations.
“As many of you know already, Griff is a journalistic force, who has led his 50-person team at The Post with energy, creativity, smarts and ambition,” The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg said in a memo to staff. “His experience on the democracy beat, in particular, will help us in our coverage of the various challenges to the American way of governance.”
Witte will report to deputy executive editor Yoni Appelbaum and work closely with deputy editor Juliet Lapidos and other editorial leaders.
Prior to serving as democracy editor, Witte was the Post’s deputy foreign editor and bureau chief in Berlin, London, Jerusalem, Islamabad and Kabul. Before that he roamed the United States as a national correspondent. His award-winning reporting for The Post has taken him to more than 30 countries, where he has covered wars, elections, uprisings, revolutions, disasters both natural and man-made and everyday life.
In addition, Witte was previously a reporter for the Miami Herald and served as the researcher for Steve Coll’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Ghost Wars.”
Witte is the latest departure from The Post after its billionaire owner Jeff Bezos nixed the editorial board’s plan to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president before the 2024 election — marking the first time in 36 years the paper didn’t endorse a presidential candidate.
Others who have exited since the decision include columnists Jen Rubin and Michele Norris, cartoonist Ann Telnaes, editor Philip Rucker, investigative reporter Josh Dawsey, political correspondents Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer and White House reporter Tyler Pager.
Additionally, WaPo laid off roughly 100 employees earlier this month.
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