Vox co-founder Ezra Klein and editor-in-chief Lauren Williams are leaving the news site, announced Melissa Bell, publisher of Vox Media, on Friday. The news comes just a week after another co-founder, Matthew Yglesias, announced his departure, citing a desire to reclaim “an independent voice.”
Without Klein and Yglesias, Bell will be the last of the Vox co-founders left at the outlet. Williams started at Vox as a managing editor a few months after the site’s 2014 launch.
In January, Klein will head to the New York Times, where he’ll write a reported policy column for the opinion section, and host a podcast. His current Vox podcast, “The Ezra Klein Show,” will come to an end. Williams is leaving in February to start a nonprofit called Capital B, focused on creating civic journalism tailored to Black communities.
Yglesias, meanwhile, is already onto his next gig, writing a Substack newsletter called “Slow Boring.” In his inaugural post, he describes “an inherent tension between my status as a co-founder of [Vox] and my desire to be a fiercely independent and at times contentious voice.” (However, he continues to host Vox’s political podcast “The Weeds.”)
Vox is now looking to fill 10 positions, including Williams’s dual role as editor-in-chief and senior vice president. Looking ahead, Bell notes the site is partnering with Netflix, YouTube Originals, and HBO to expand its television footprint. She writes that new history and science podcasts are also in the works for 2021.
Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Northeast DC.
