One of the most powerful jobs in American journalism went up for grabs on Monday with the announcement that Leonard Downie, the long-serving executive editor of the Washington Post, is stepping down in September.

Mr Downie joined the Post in 1964, and has held the top job since 1991, when he succeeded the legendary Ben Bradlee. His departure had been widely rumoured since Katharine Weymouth took over earlier this year as the paper’s publisher.