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WaPo Quick To Tout Its Commitment to 'Diverse Representation' After Lone Black Board Member Quits

(Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images)
February 28, 2023

After losing its editorial board's lone black member, the Washington Post told Axios Tuesday it "is committed to diverse representation in all its pages" and "plans to further expand the range of voices in the months to come."

Jonathan Capehart, a black gay man, quit his 15-year position on the paper's editorial board after a dispute about an editorial on the 2022 Georgia runoff election. A Post spokesperson assured Axios it was committed to "diverse representation" on its board as it seeks a replacement.

"Writers like Keith Richburg and Mili Mitra regularly contribute editorials. In recent months, the section also announced the addition of several contributing columnists including Theodore Johnson, Natasha Sarin and Bina Venkataraman, among several others," the spokesperson continued.

Diversity appears to be the least of the newspaper's problems as financial troubles loom. The Post did not break even last year and laid off 20 of its 2,500 employees in January, leaving another 30 positions unfilled. The paper has also lost half a million subscribers since President Joe Biden took office.