Baron to replace Brauchli as Wash. Post editor

(AP) Marcus Brauchli, the executive editor of The Washington Post for the last four years, is stepping down at the end of the year and will be replaced by Marty Baron, editor of The Boston Globe.

Brauchli will become vice president of The Washington Post Co., working with Chairman Don Graham to review and evaluate new media opportunities, the company said.

Marty Baron has presided over The Boston Globe since July 2001. In that time, the newspaper has won six Pulitzer prizes. Baron started his career as a reporter at the Miami Herald in 1976 and was executive editor there before joining the Globe. He has also held top editing positions at The New York Times and Los Angeles Times. He will start at the Post on Jan. 2.

We are thrilled to have Marty Baron lead The Washington Post's newsroom, said Katharine Weymouth, the Post's publisher and a member of the Graham family that controls The Washington Post Co., in a statement. He has a demonstrated record of producing the highest quality journalism, which matches the legacy and expectations of The Post.

Brauchli, 51, joined the Post in 2008 after resigning as managing editor of The Wall Street Journal following its purchase by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. He said at the time that the new owners should have an editor of their choosing.

Brauchli led the Post to four Pulitzer prizes. As the Post experienced declines in circulation and print advertising revenue, he also presided over a period of cost cutting, which included employee buyouts.

Marcus has contributed immeasurably in the more than four years he has been at the helm of this newsroom, Weymouth said. Under his leadership, we have become one newsroom publishing on multiple platforms, traffic has grown substantially and we are consistently recognized as among the most innovative mainstream news sites.

Brauchli's final day as executive editor will be Dec. 31.