Clash Over Phone Hacking Article Preceded Exit of Washington Post Editor

Weeks before an executive editor abruptly resigned, her relationship with the company’s chief executive became increasingly tense. They clashed over the decision to publish an article about a British hacking scandal. The editor informed the chief executive about the newsroom’s plan to cover a judge’s ruling in a British legal case. In the case, the judge was expected to decide whether to add the chief executive’s name to a list of executives involved in concealing evidence of hacking. The chief executive disagreed and called the editor’s decision a lapse in judgment. The editor sought advice from confidants outside the company and eventually published an article about the judge’s ruling.