By Adam Pagnucco.
Democracy Dies in Darkness. That has been the motto of the Washington Post since February 2017. Yesterday, Post owner Jeff Bezos cast a LOT of darkness on the newspaper by laying off a third of the workforce. With cuts of this kind in many sectors of media, how long will our democracy last?
That’s a question for another time. Yesterday, we discussed the layoff of game-changing education reporter Nicole Asbury. Today, we will print the public statements made on X by many former Post employees and other prominent observers. Here is what they are saying about one of the biggest calamities in the history of American journalism.
Post Ukraine reporter Lizzie Johnson: “I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a warzone. I have no words. I’m devastated.”
Post Ukraine bureau chief Siobhán O’Grady: “It’s been the honor of my life to serve as Washington Post bureau chief in Ukraine.”
Post Cairo bureau chief Claire Parker: “Laid off from the Washington Post, along with the entire roster of Middle East correspondents and our editors. Hard to understand the logic. But I am grateful for my incredible colleagues, whose grit and dedication to the reporting and each other I will miss dearly.”
Post Jerusalem bureau chief Gerry Shih: “It was a privilege to be a Post correspondent, roaming the world the last 7+ years for a paper I very much believed in. I’m gone along with the rest of the ME team and majority of teammates from Delhi to Beijing to Kyiv & Latam. Sad day, but it was a lot of fun and we raised hell.”
Post global crises reporter Louisa Loveluck: “Heartbroken to have been laid off by The Washington Post today. It has been the honour of a lifetime to work with these colleagues for a decade, from Damascus to Baghdad, Derna to Bakhmut. I am proud of our work. Thank you, everyone.”
New York Times media reporter Ben Mullin: “NEWS: The cuts were so severe that at least one department head asked to leave The Post rather than be included in the planning. Peter Finn, The Post’s international editor, requested that he be laid off once he learned about the scope of the cuts to his section.”
Post international investigative correspondent Shibani Mahtani: “I’ve been laid off from the Post today, along with too many of my incredible colleagues, after eight incredible years, most of them in Hong Kong and covering China’s expansion, a story that will define our generation.”
Post Sydney bureau chief Michael Miller: “I guess now’s a good time to say that if you’re looking to hire someone who will literally wade through croc infested waters for a story, who has reported from Afghanistan & Ukraine, and who has written the definitive piece on bin chickens, lmk michael.eamonn.miller@gmail.com”
Post Iran and Turkey reporter Yeganeh Torbati: “I’m heartbroken to announce that I’ve been laid off from my position at The Washington Post. Working at this newspaper, and especially being a foreign correspondent covering Iran and Turkey over the last few short months, was a dream come true for me.”
Post international reporter Miriam Berger: “I was also laid off from @washingtonpost in today’s cuts. I am incredibly proud of the work my colleagues and I did, including our unflinching coverage of the Gaza war — which still hasn’t ended for Palestinians there. Please, readers, support the journalism this world needs.”
Post global affairs columnist Ishaan Tharoor: “I have been laid off today from the @washingtonpost, along with most of the International staff and so many other wonderful colleagues. I’m heartbroken for our newsroom and especially for the peerless journalists who served the Post internationally — editors and correspondents who have been my friends and collaborators for almost 12 years. It’s been an honor to work with them. I launched the WorldView column in January 2017 to help readers better understand the world and America’s place in it and I’m grateful for the half a million loyal subscribers who tuned into the column several times a week over the years.”
Post deputy editor of national politics breaking news team Missy Khamvongsa: “Matt Murray said the coverage from the Politics department remains the largest at The @washingtonpost and central to its mission. But national political breaking news doesn’t appear to be part of the equation. I’ve been laid off, just shy of my 20th anniversary in the newsroom.”
Post national weekend editor PJ Joshi: “After 4 years as weekend editor for national & politics, I was laid off from the @washingtonpost. Every weekend was nonstop with assassination attempts, court actions, global military strikes — all harder to cover with 300 fewer talented journalists. Next steps TK/DMs open.”
Post campaigns reporter Patrick Svitek: “I was laid off today from the Washington Post’s campaigns team covering the midterms and 2028. I hear this is an important election year — and I want to cover it aggressively. If you’d like to work together, my DMs are open and you can email me at patrick.svitek@gmail.com.”
Post national politics breaking news reporter Brianna Tucker: “I’m affected by layoffs at The Washington Post today. There aren’t enough words to describe the immense privilege and profound responsibility I’ve felt since hired at 25 as an editor. As a Black woman covering politics (a dwindling cohort), today that feeling is magnified.”
Post race and ethnicity reporter Emmanuel Felton: “I’m among the hundreds of people laid off by The Post. This comes six months after hearing in a national meeting that race coverage drives subscriptions. This wasn’t a financial decision, it was an ideological one… The other reporter on my team covering race was also laid off as well as the editor in charge of race coverage across national. The team covering America beyond DC is now 90% white.”
Post enterprise reporter Marissa J. Lang via MSNOW managing editor Rachel Van Dongen: “Marissa was one of the journalists who won a Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.”
Former Post editor Robert McCartney: “We’re hearing Post has laid off all its photojournalists.”
Post visual forensics reporter Nilo Tabrizy: “I got laid off today with my other talented Posties. It was an amazing ride to do more open source work and keep reporting on Iran. Thank you to my amazing colleagues and editors for making space for some of my favorite work. Please DM if you’d like to work together. Grateful to have reconstructed the Rasht Bazaar incident most recently.”
Former Federal Trade Commission Director of Public Affairs Douglas Farrar: “I have learned that the ENTIRE San Francisco bureau has been cut. Big tech companies that control the market for advertising monopolized the market, killed the business model for journalism. No SF office for one of the biggest papers in the world says a lot.”
Post Amazon reporter Caroline O’Donovan: “Today I was laid off from my job covering Amazon for Jeff Bezos’s Washington Post.”
Former WAMU reporter and editor Martin Austermuhle: “Per the reporting below, Washington Post’s Metro section will shrink from roughly 40 people to a dozen. That’s insane. You can still do great reporting with a small team, but you’re forced to leave so many important stories aside.”
Former local Post reporter Alec MacGillis: “There were a dozen staffers in the Fairfax bureau when I started there in 2006, suitable for a county of 1 million. That was one of a half dozen suburban bureaus, plus the city desk to cover DC itself. Now there will be a dozen people in all of Metro, for a region of 6 million.”
7NewsDC sports director Scott Abraham: “Think about this today. If it weren’t for the Washington Post sports department, Dan Snyder would probably still be the owner of the Washington Redskins/Commanders. Let that sink in. Local sports journalism is impactful and it matters.”
St. Mary’s College political science professor Todd Eberly: “The @washingtonpost will become all but useless to my MD Politics class. @postlocal was a key resource. The simple reality is that we obsess over national politics, but state & local politics has a greater impact on our day to day lives. We need more local coverage, not less.”
WAMU analyst Tom Sherwood: “No questions allowed! At a newspaper staff meeting!! That’s all you need to know.”
Banner reporter Ellie Wolf: “Awful news for the incredibly talented journalists at The Washington Post this morning. We have openings at The @BaltimoreBanner, including a digital producer, an express reporter, a sports reporter and a new Deputy Editor.”
