Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Eugene Robinson is leaving The Washington Post after more than four decades, marking the latest high-profile departure following a shift in the paper’s editorial direction under owner Jeff Bezos.
Robinson, 71, joined the Post in 1980 and became a columnist in 2005. He won journalism’s highest honor in 2009 for his commentary on the historic election of Barack Obama. In a memo to staff, first reported by The New York Times, Robinson said the recent “significant shift” in the mission of the opinion section helped clarify that it was time for him to step away.
The departure comes as the Post narrows the focus of its opinion coverage to themes of personal freedom and market-based economics, a change that has led to internal friction. Last month, longtime columnist Ruth Marcus resigned after management declined to publish her critique of the new editorial direction. The paper, currently in a period of broader organizational upheaval, has enforced restrictions on staff writing about internal developments.
Opinion editor David Shipley has also stepped down amid the reorientation.
Though leaving the Post, Robinson indicated on social media that he has no plans to exit the field entirely. “I’m retiring from my longtime journalistic home but not from journalism,” he wrote Thursday, adding that he would soon share news about his next steps. He remains a frequent contributor to MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
