As news reporting scandals grow, Will Lewis, the CEO of the Washington Post, finds his position "increasingly untenable."

On Wednesday, September 13, 2023, Will Lewis, the creator of The News Movement, visited the publisher's London, UK, offices. 

According to a New York Times story published on Saturday, Will Lewis, the troubled new publisher and CEO of the Washington Post, allegedly used dishonest and unethical means to get material for stories when he was employed at the Sunday Times in London in the early 2000s.

According to the New York Times, which cited Lewis's former coworker, a private investigator, and its own examination of newspaper archives, Lewis utilized phone and business data that were "fraudulently obtained" by hacking and bribing sources for information.

It's unclear from the fog of charges if these allegations will force Lewis to resign as the head of one of the most prestigious publications in the nation. Nevertheless, analysts believe Lewis' hold over the newsroom is eroding. Lewis' stance is "increasingly untenable," according to Margaret Sullivan, chief executive officer of the Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics as well as Security at Columbia University's School of Journalism, who spoke with CNN on Sunday.

These most recent accusations of dubious journalistic ethics may potentially have a lasting effect on a newspaper already in shock over the shocking dismissal of its executive editor, Sally Buzbee. The paper's standing as a champion of American journalism may potentially be impacted by the accusations.

A report on Robert Winnett, whom Lewis selected to lead the Post's main newsroom after the US presidential election in November, was released late on Sunday by the Washington Post itself. According to an article in The Post, Winnett—a protégé of Lewis’s—was associated with a person who obtained material via unethical ways, which Winnett then used in his work.

"We cover The Washington Post independently, thoroughly, and fairly," the Washington Post said in a statement. We have requested Cameron Barr, a former senior managing editor who left the role in 2023 and is now employed as a senior associate editor under contract, to supervise this coverage due to perceived and possible conflicts. Our reporting is not influenced or involved in any way by the publication.

In response to a LinkedIn question from CNN, Winnett did not reply right away.

In its Code of Ethics, the Society of Professional Journalists, which has 7,000 members nationwide and whose journalistic standards are respected in many newsrooms, forbids journalists from "paying for access to news."

The SPJ advises journalists to "avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of collecting knowledge unless traditional, open methods will not yield knowledge vital to the public," but it does not specifically address hacking as a method of news gathering. Instead, it warns that "pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance of unnecessary intrusiveness."

The fresh charges are made as Lewis attempts to dispel resurrected claims that he covered up a phone hacking incident in the UK. He has always denied any misconduct in relation to these allegations. Lewis has said in the past that he dealt with the incident by putting an end to bad conduct.

Lewis refused to comment, a Washington Post spokesman told CNN.

Lewis has informed staff members that "his role as publisher is to create the environment for great journalism and to motivate and back it, that he will never interfere in the journalism and that he is very clear with regard to the lines that should not be crossed," according to a Washington Post source who was aware of internal meetings at the paper last week, which CNN reported.

Right-wing media tycoon Rupert Murdoch's News of the World tabloid was embroiled in a controversy that lasted for ten years. It was recently reignited by a new lawsuit that Prince Harry and prominent Hollywood celebrities, such as Guy Ritchie and Hugh Grant, filed. Lewis worked for Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation as a senior executive during the time of the News of the World affair.

However, Lewis has been the target of a litany of allegations in recent weeks, most of which center on his efforts to stifle information about his involvement in the coverup. The New York Times first revealed earlier this month that Lewis, who took over at the Washington Post on January 2, and Buzbee had a falling out over the publication of an article in May that implicated him in the scandal. However, a representative for Lewis has refuted any claims that he put pressure on Buzbee to retract the article, as NPR reports.

Earlier last month, Buzbee quit the firm without warning. A few days later, an NPR reporter claimed that Lewis had made an interview offer to him in return for quashing an upcoming piece on the affair.

Regarding these claims, The Washington Post did not reply to CNN.

"When he was a private citizen compared to joining The Washington Post, he had off the record conversations involving an employee of NPR about a story the employee then published," a representative for Lewis told the New York Times when the matter first surfaced earlier this month. Any interview requests made after he started working at the Washington Post were "processed through the normal corporate communication channels," the statement said.

Lewis seems to have lost even more control over his newsroom since Buzbee left. Several Post employees who talked with CNN complained of a sharp decline in morale. Although the Washington Post has seen "rough patches" in the past, one employee said earlier this month, "It's as bad as I've ever seen it, truly," adding that the unfavorable mood hovering over the publication is unusual.

Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post, may make "the cleanest, best move" by removing Lewis and appointing a new CEO, according to Sullivan's opinion article published in the Guardian on Wednesday. "Several news organizations have been motivated to look more deeply regarding his past; it's possible that some new revelation will make his Post positions of authority even more untenable and will force Bezos' hand," the spokesperson said, referring to Lewis' insistence on limiting reporting about him.

In her opinion piece, Sullivan said that Lewis may attempt to rebuild confidence both within and outside the newsroom by pledging to provide staff members with "true editorial independence" and stating that he would not breach any ethical boundaries. He can also try to get the Washington Post to hire an independent public editor or ombudsman again, a job they eliminated more than ten years ago, to supervise the publication's adherence to journalistic principles.