On Wednesday, history was made. Krissah Thompson was named The Washington Post’s Managing Editor of Diversity and Inclusion. By earning this position, Thompson becomes the first Black woman to hold the position of managing editor in the paper’s 143-year history.
“I really want to be a bridge from senior leadership to staff and to help open up communication. That’s one thing I’m really excited about, just hearing from people about the ways they feel like we can improve. I think The Post is already a great newsroom. We can obviously be better. And so I want to hear ideas about that,” Thompson said about her new role.
I’m so excited to get to work!! “A diverse staff makes our reporting better. We’re better when we have more perspectives and we can cover communities as deeply and widely as possible.”https://t.co/edsnVnc66b
— Krissah Thompson (@Krissah30) July 28, 2020
“But also to talk to people about their careers and what their goals are and to help them and their managers think through, ‘Ok, what are the steps that we need to get there?’ I want us to have a newsroom where all people feel like they can thrive and that their careers can thrive. And I want to work on helping to build that culture,” she added.
Thompson is a Texas native and graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. She joined The Washington Post as an intern in 2001 after graduating from college. During her time in Washington, D.C., she has covered business, presidential campaigns, civil rights and much. In 2015, she earned an Emmy nod for her work.
