10 Women to Watch

Meet these news publishing leaders driving the industry forward

After an extensive search, Sally Buzbee joined The Washington Post as its new executive editor on June 1, making her the first woman to lead the 143-year-old news organization. This past year was a remarkable one for women journalists like Buzbee who are breaking barriers and leading the charge in local and national news. Although most of the women on our list were recently promoted or hired to their current positions, make no mistake—they have the experience and fortitude to carry their newsrooms and the industry into a bright and successful future.

What are you most excited about in the news industry today?

I’m excited that, finally, things like workplace mental health and safety, and diversity are part of regular newsroom conversations, but we still have a lot of work to do in order to make sure Black and brown people, as well as women, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ community and other historically marginalized groups feel truly seen, heard and comfortable in our newsrooms. But I do feel we can achieve this, a more equitable newsroom.

What is your advice for aspiring women journalists?

Try everything and don’t be afraid to fail at anything. Failure is a huge part of success. I bumped my head many times on my route to where I am now. I’ve been laid off. I’ve been forced out. I’ve been passed over. And in the end, all of it made me better, stronger, and more capable as a journalist. Failures are lessons. You learn them and you grow from them. So be thankful for those times you messed up or didn’t get what you wanted and survived. You got a valuable lesson out of it you can apply to your future success.