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When they heard the rumors of turmoil at the top, the journalists of the Houston Landing gathered in the newsroom on Monday.

There, they listened through a door as the CEO fired their beloved editor.<b> </b>Then, a star reporter was fired too.

Later, some cried in the hallway or confronted the executive about a decision none saw coming. Many wondered how things could have gone bad so fast at a well-funded, experimental nonprofit publication they hoped would be shielded from the market forces that have clobbered the rest of the media industry.

“This was supposed to be the lighthouse,” said one Houston Landing reporter who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern for their job.

The sudden turmoil at <a href="https://houstonlanding.org/" target=_blank>Houston Landing</a> — a seven-month-old news site backed with a hefty $20 million in foundation funding — is raising questions about whether the scores of nonprofit outlets attempting to save journalism in communities across the country will end up mired in the same woes as their languishing corporate rivals, from muddled transitions to digital formats to executive decisions that often come without a clear rationale.

Style is where The Washington Post covers happenings on the front lines of culture and what it all means, including the arts, media, social trends, politics and yes, fashion, all told with personality and deep reporting. For more Style stories, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/" target=_blank>click here</a>.

Until this week, reporters thought CEO Peter Bhatia was happy with their site’s performance. Backed by wealthy local donors and two national journalism heavyweights — the Knight Foundation and the American Journalism Project — the Landing exceeded its traffic goals and expanded to a staff of roughly 45. Many had joined the Landing to work with its founding editor in chief, former Houston Chronicle senior editor Mizanur Rahman. In less than a year, they had published high-impact work: A mentally ill prisoner featured in a story was <a href="https://houstonlanding.org/forgotten-inmate-syed-rabbani-taken-off-death-row-after-nearly-30-years/" target="_blank">taken off death row</a>, while a developer <a href="https://houstonlanding.org/doj-sues-colony-ridge-calling-it-an-illegal-land-sales-scheme-targeting-latino-buyers/" target="_blank">accused</a> of predatory lending in an investigation on the site now faces a Justice Department lawsuit.

But on Monday, Bhatia fired both Rahman and Alex Stuckey, an investigative reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017.

After the firing, aggrieved staffers described themselves as “blindsided” in a letter to the Houston Landing’s board. But for now, it seems as if Bhatia’s decisions will stand. The board said Wednesday in a letter to the staff that board members have “full confidence” in the CEO.

Bhatia insists his decision wasn’t driven by financial concerns, saying that Houston Landing remains “very well funded” with a three-year financial runway for its initial launch.

Instead, Bhatia told The Washington Post he fired Rahman and Stuckey because he wants “a change.” He struggled to explain specifically what he wants that change to look like, aside from saying the Houston Landing currently looks too much like a traditional newspaper.

“We’re basically a newspaper on a website,” Bhatia said.

Reporters pushed back at Bhatia’s explanations in a Monday meeting, a recording of which was shared with The Post. After Bhatia told them he wanted to see more videos in articles, some responded that many of their articles already have videos. One reporter told Bhatia he had “no clue” about the outlet, adding a profanity.

Asked for examples of the kind of work he wants to see, Bhatia praised digital design from major newspapers with far more money and staff than Houston Landing. He singled out “Snowfall,” a flashy, resource-intensive, format-busting 2012 New York Times story about an avalanche that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/23/insider/snow-fall-at-10-how-it-changed-journalism.html" target=_blank>inspired</a> many journalists but has since become a sort of byword for news executives groping for a digital strategy.

Bhatia also told The Post that he would like Houston Landing to be more like two other young local news outlets, New York’s <a href="https://www.thecity.nyc/" target=_blank>The City</a> and <a href="https://blockclubchicago.org/" target=_blank>Block Club Chicago</a> — sites with layouts that are not radical departures from what Houston Landing already looks like. Bhatia conceded that it will be difficult to find an editor to carry out his vision for the newsroom.

“The job description for what I need in an editor is probably roughly akin to sainthood,” said Bhatia, a former top editor at the Detroit Free Press and several other newspapers.

For more than an hour on Monday, staffers told Bhatia he had undermined Houston Landing’s mission, comparing the chaos to turmoil and layoffs they had experienced at newspaper chains such as Gannett.

After one reporter questioned Bhatia’s pronouncement that he would start participating in meetings — suggesting that the CEO’s presence would violate the traditional boundaries between editorial and business decisions — Bhatia bristled.

“Do you know who I am?” Bhatia said, before listing off his credentials. “Seriously, do you know who I am? I’ve been a journalist for 50 years, I have 10 Pulitzer Prizes, I’ve been editor of a half a dozen newspapers.”

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Rahman did not respond to requests for comment. In a social media post, Rahman said he didn’t know why he was fired.

“I was not given a clear reason for this decision other than our CEO saying we needed a more ‘digital first’ direction,” <a href="https://twitter.com/Mizanur_TX/status/1744808871070138768" target=_blank>Rahman wrote</a>. “This is confusing because we are digital only.”

Stuckey said she also walked away without an explanation. In their own meeting, a recording of which was also reviewed by The Post, Stuckey asked the CEO why, just weeks after giving her a raise, Bhatia now wanted to fire her.

“I completely understand the irony of that,” Bhatia told her. “Well, it’s not really irony.”

Stuckey suspects she was fired because, as a self-described “rabble rouser,” she assumes she would have one of the loudest voices criticizing Bhatia’s decision to fire Rahman.

“I would follow him to Antarctica if he sent me to make good journalism there,” she said of Rahman.

Reporters say they are concerned that the firings would hurt the Houston Landing’s efforts to recruit other journalists and raise money to keep going after its initial funding runs out. But Bhatia said the outlet offers better pay and benefits than most comparable publications.

“Maybe I’m just old. I’ve been through so many transitions and ups and downs through a long career, I accept disarray,” Bhatia said. “But I think the disarray is short term.”

Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America

Georgetown University, BS in International Politics

Will Sommer is a media reporter for the Style section. He's the author of "Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America," a book covering the QAnon movement.

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