A small digital start-up launched by Washington Post publisher William Lewis has entered into an agreement with The Post that allows the two companies to pursue deals together, even as Lewis still holds a financial stake in the firm.
The Post’s conflict-of-interest policy stresses the need to eliminate or manage situations in which an employee could benefit from the company’s outside partnerships. Those scenarios include cases in which an employee “has a substantial financial interest” in “any business entity which does business with or which seeks to do business with if the employee is involved in the transactions in any way.
A January 2022 company filing by The News Movement Holdings Ltd in Britain, the most recent that details the company’s ownership, identified Lewis as its controlling shareholder. That company is directly owned by The News Movement Inc. in Delaware, which is not required to publicly identify its shareholders.
“If I am an employee and I know this person has an affiliation with another organization, that could raise doubt in my mind about whether this person is acting in the best interests of the organization I am a part of,” Wicks said.Lewis was hired by Jeff Bezos, the owner of The Post. A spokesman for Bezos did not respond to an email seeking comment.Rupert Murdoch’s media company, where he once worked. Lewis is not a defendant in the case and has denied wrongdoing.
While Lewis ran the News Movement, it forged a partnership with the Associated Press, where he serves Baird, the Post spokesperson, confirmed that Lewis no longer holds “ownership or financial interest” in WJL Partners. She added that he does not receive any pay for his weekly WJL Partners emails and that he disclosed the arrangement in accordance with The Post’s conflict-of-interest policy.
WJL Partners reported net assets equivalent to $356,000 in early 2023, according to financial records. The News Movement reported negative net assets for 2022 equivalent to $2.8 million but has not posted updated figures since then. A Starbucks spokesperson confirmed that the News Movement made a proposal involving potential media partners including The Post. The company reviewed it and decided not to move forward, the spokesperson said.