Gene Weingarten must have been pleased, kind of. After all, it's not every week that his Washington Post Magazine column, "Below the Beltway," gets a heavy dose of promotion on page A2. The promotion came in the form of an Editor's Note that said the following:

"The headline, illustration, and text of 'Below the Beltway,' a column in The Washington Post Magazine today, may cause offense to readers. The magazine was was printed before a widely publicized incident last week in which a chimpanzee attacked a badly mauled a woman in Stamford, Conn. In addition, the image and text inadvertently may conjure racial stereotypes that The Post does not countenance. We regret the lapse."

What reader, upon getting a load of such official regret-mongering, didn't immediately navigate to the offending column, titled "Monkey Business," in search of some incredibly tasteless depiction of human-simian relations?

Read More "What’s Up with WaPo’s Ape Editor’s Note?" »

The Washington Post is undergoing a remarkable shrinking act, with some sections folding and others taking on more complicated identities. Making it all happen will require some tweaks to the paper's design. The paper's Web site, washingtonpost.com, has long had layout problems of its own---a crowded homepage that poses something of a gantlet for users in search of their favorite blogs and articles.

That's where Roger Black comes in. The paper has contracted with this renowned New York design guru to redo its newspaper and Web site. In recent weeks, Black has been meeting with staffers to get their ideas on freshening the look of the Post brand.

Like all deliberative processes at the Post, this one won't spawn a revolution. "Instead of a redesign, it'll be much more of a cleaning up of visually contrasting elements," says a Post source, referring to "typefaces changing from section to section," among other minor design problems.

Read More "WaPo Working with Roger Black" »

More re-org at the upper reaches of the Washington Post: Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli today puts in his own layer of top lieutenants, announcing that longtime newsie Liz Spayd and Raju Narisetti, formerly of India's Mint newspaper and the Wall Street Journal, would serve as a dual managing editors.

Details from the Post memo:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—January 13, 2009—The Washington Post today named Elizabeth Spayd and Raju Narisetti as Managing Editors of The Washington Post. Both will report to Executive Editor Marcus W. Brauchli.

Ms. Spayd and Mr. Narisetti will share responsibility for The Post’s award-winning journalism, whether in print, online and on mobile devices, and they will lead the integration of The Post’s print and online newsrooms.

Ms. Spayd, who has been editor of washingtonpost.com since 2007, will oversee the gathering, editing and production of news. Her brief will include political, general, business, foreign and metropolitan news, as well as The Post’s news desk and the print newspaper’s day-to-day production.

Read More "WaPo Names Two New Managing Editors" »

Here's a memo that just reached the desks of Washington Posties, from Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli:

The 10 official inaugural balls scheduled for Jan. 20 to mark the beginning of the Obama administration are partisan political celebrations. Washington Post journalists should attend them only as journalists, not as participants. This is the same policy The Post has had in the past on such events, and similar ones, including the Million Man March. We should be equally prudent regarding other inaugural events, avoiding appearances that would be or suggest a conflict of interest. If you have any questions, talk to your supervisor. Many thanks.

Marcus

Post Editor Brauchli writes about Phil Bennett leaving:

To the Staff:

I’d like to thank Phil Bennett for his extraordinary contributions to The Post newsroom and in particular for his assistance in helping to smooth the leadership transition over the last several months.

Read More "Marcus Brauchli’s Follow-Up Memo" »

Washingtonpost.com will soon be looking for a new executive editor, following today's announcement that Jim Brady will soon be leaving that post. Then again, it may not be looking to fill the slot. Over the next year--or perhaps even the next six months--the Washington Post's newsroom and the Arlington offices of washingtonpost.com will merge, and a stand-alone digital chief may not be part of the new power structure.

Says Brady on the question of whether his position will live: "I don't know the answer to that." As to why he's leaving, well, the merger is unquestionably a big part of it. Brady has been executive editor of washingtonpost.com for four years--a full Olympic cycle that Brady has spent on nearly equal footing with the big boss of the main newsroom. For most of Brady's tenure, that's been Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. Last year at this time, in fact, Brady was lording it all over the print guys, in a fight relating to the Post's coverage of national politics.

The newsroom had hired away washingtonpost.com's congressional blogger, Paul Kane, and was hoping that it could transfer Kane's slot to the newsroom as well--meaning that the print operation would essentially be taking a slot from dot-com. Brady said no dice--we'll be hiring our own congressional blogger.

In addition to turf battles of that sort, Brady has had the authority to ram important changes down the know-it-all throats of newsroom people. For instance, reporters at the Post once objected to allowing the posting of comments and to other initiatives now considered de rigueur for a newspaper's Web site.

"The battles that at times played out between the newspaper and the web site--how they play out is going to change," says Brady.

Read More "Jim Brady Talks About Leaving Washingtonpost.com" »

Jim Brady, the executive editor of washingtonpost.com, is stepping down. Marcus Brauchli's memo follows the jump. Read More "Brady to Leave washingtonpost.com" »

Washington Post Executive Editor-in-Waiting Marcus Brauchli today addressed his new colleagues for the first time. In a set of prepared remarks that spanned just a few minutes, Brauchli spoke with firmness but little emotion. Everyone says that he'll have plenty of occasions to deliver his inspirational, pump-up-the-newsroom address. When he does that, he may want to ditch the written script that he fumbled with in his opener today.

I combed my way through Brauchli's speech in search of the most inspirational stuff. Please help me come up with a winner.

Which is Brauchli's most inspirational moment?

1. "For me the Post has always been a beacon of what is right in American journalism."
2. "Change is bearing down upon all of us equally, and we will all be called upon to navigate this critical passage."
3. "With the many brilliant journalists in this room, over the water at Washingtonpost.com, and around the world---whether in Bethesda or Baghdad---and with the commitment of the Grahams, I am confident we will meet every challenge and thrive.
4. "For me personally the biggest challenge will be being measured, even in the smallest increments, by the soaring standards set by you and the leadership of Len and Ben Bradlee."
5. "I believe absolutely that first-rate journalism will have an audience, and where there is an audience, there is a future."
6. "I look forward to getting to know all of you."
7. "Thank you very much."

Votes encouraged in comments section.