Ex-WSJ editor Brauchli now heads The Washington Post

Washington, July 8 : Marcus Brauchli, who was shunted out by Rupert Murdoch three months ago as the editor of Wall Street Journal (WSJ), has been appointed as the Executive Editor of The Washington Post.

He would succeed Leonard Downie Jr., who remained in the post for 17 years, announced the publisher of The Washington Post, Katharine Weymouth.

Brauchli will become only the third person in the paper's top job since Ben Bradlee was given the position in 1968. And, he will be the first from outside the corporation since shortly after Weymouth's great-grandfather Eugene Meyer bought the paper at a bankruptcy sale in 1933.

Brauchli said his new assignment would be a challenge for him. "It's both a privilege and possibly the most intimidating thing I've ever done to think about coming into an institution with such deep and proud traditions as The Post. It's going to be a challenge, obviously, to adjust to a new culture. . . . I'm anticipating having to go through a steep learning curve at hyper-speed," the paper quoted him as saying.

He added: "My mantra has been, we are not defined by medium, we are defined by our approach to journalism. If The Washington Post, which has a very strong brand, can reach people who want sound, thoughtful, balanced journalism -- free of cant, free of slant -- they will come to The Post in print, online, on mobile phones, expecting those qualities."

Weymouth called Brauchli "a strong and visionary leader". He said, "he is smart and able and places the same emphasis on quality and accountability journalism as we do. . . . I have found him to be a straight shooter and a good listener."

Despite The Washington Post's culture of "promoting from within," Weymouth said, "I thought that we could benefit from someone who would come in and look at what we do with fresh eyes."

ANI