Top News:
Brian Stelter / CNN:
In an interview, WaPo Executive Editor Matt Murray says Jeff Bezos supports “reinvention” and wants the WaPo to be “a bigger, relevant, thriving institution” — Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos remains committed to the publication, its top editor told CNN in an interview Wednesday …
Discussion:
Status, The Hill, Fox News, PJ Media, The American Bazaar, Newser, Gulf Business, @j9talley, @garygrumbach, @ericcasey.bsky.social and @rcmacleod.bsky.social
Discussion:
Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill: Washington Post editor: Bezos wants ‘bigger, relevant, thriving institution’
Fox News: Washington Post's top editor backs Jeff Bezos as critics lash out over struggling paper's layoffs
Eric Florack / PJ Media: The Washington Post Has Nobody to Blame but Itself
Nileena Sunil / The American Bazaar: Washington Post eliminates sports department amid major layoffs
Jenn Gidman / Newser: GoFundMe for Laid-Off Post Staffers Rakes in the Cash
Janine Talley / @j9talley: One of my best memories is when we stayed at the Waldorf Towers and I realized Katherine Graham was staying in the same building. Having two daughters with us who could possibly come close to making the same impact as her one day was incredibly encouraging. Tonight, not so much.
Gary Grumbach / @garygrumbach: CNN has placed this big interview behind a paywall, a reminder of the importance of paying for journalism.
Eric Casey / @ericcasey.bsky.social: Nothing has ever deserved the “sure Jan” gif more than this. [embedded post]
Riley MacLeod / @rcmacleod.bsky.social: Lol [embedded post]
RELATED:
Derek Thompson / @dkthomp:
Matt Murray saying that WaPo will no longer write for “one slice of the audience” demonizes the strategy of fiercely reporting on Trump that made it successful — This part of the Matt Murray email to WaPo staffers makes me most depressed about the paper's future. What you've got here is a media company where the owner has not only overhauled strategy but also required that new leadership pursue a Bad Strategy and demonize the very [image]
Discussion:
Jen Monroe / @thatjenmonroe: Much like CBS News, WaPo's new strategy seems to be chasing an audience that doesn't consume their content
Herb Scribner / @herbscribner: This is a good read on things... Just going to note that around the end of my time there (circa late 2024-early 2025), I remember the mandate from above for less daily output across teams.
Matthew Zeitlin / @mattzeitlin: After Trump went after Amazon's Pentagon contracts and the Biden administration elevated anti-Amazon types to big jobs, it feels like Bezos was boxed into a strategy that would never work commercially and should have probably sold
Jeremy Barr / The Guardian:
Marty Baron says “I firmly believe” Jeff Bezos prioritizes his other interests over WaPo; Jim VandeHei says “I have no clue what their strategy was or is” — On Wednesday, storied newspaper axed nearly one-third of company after earlier unpopular moves by owner Jeff Bezos
Discussion:
Jim VandeHei / @jimvandehei: @JakeSherman ... My breakfast crack at it...You're on the clock... Mission: Restore @washingtonpost to its glory • 2 reporters on every federal agency, small WH team w/ 3 top-tier reporters and governmentwide specialists in federal rule-making and contracting and spending • Entice Post stars
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: I don't see how Will Lewis can effectively lead WaPo. Lewis did not save Bezos from himself on opinion pages. (375K+ cancelations) His innovations did not stem enough red ink. And he has not taken any ownership of the devastating ensuing cuts. He's making Murray own it alone.
Ben Smith / @semaforben: Too late for an acquihire here The original, pre-Bezos sin at the Post was turning down a VandeHarris pitch to launch “ https://postpolitics.com/” (URL later sold back to Post) in 2006, and then — more egregiously, on the commercial side, sneering as Politico and its descendants
Scott McKay / The American Spectator: You Can't Go on Destroying Wealth Forever, You Know. Ultimately, There Are Consequences.
David Bauder / Australian Financial Review: Bezos slammed after Washington Post cuts a third of its staff
Charles P. Pierce / Esquire: It's Time to Pay Our Last Respects to The Washington Post
Jennifer Graham / Deseret News: Layoffs and a new direction rock The Washington Post
New York Times:
WaPo begins widespread layoffs, cutting into international coverage and more; sources: it is laying off 30% of its employees, including 300+ of 800 journalists — The layoffs cut into The Post's local, international and sports coverage, and reduced its work force by about 30 percent.
Discussion:
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Discussion:
Rachel Siegel / gofundme.com: Washington Post 2026 layoff fund
Mary Cunningham / CBS News: Washington Post begins sweeping layoffs as it scales back news coverage
Max Tani / @maxwelltani: Murray says the Post will be closing the sports department “in its current form.” The paper plans to retain several reporters to join features and cover sports as a “cultural and societal phenomenon,” and will have a few employees on its print sports section.
Barry Svrluga / @barrysvrluga: “First, we will be closing the Sports department in its current form.” — Matt Murray, editor of the Post
Ishaan Tharoor / @ishaantharoor: 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
Lizzie Johnson / @lizziejohnsonnn: I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a warzone. I have no words. I'm devastated.
Namrata Sen / Benzinga: Anthony Scaramucci Cancels Washington Post, Other Mag7 Subscriptions In Solidarity With Laid-Off Staff
Max Tani / @maxtani.bsky.social: Speaking to WaPo employees, editor Matt Murray says cuts are about “positioning ourselves to become more essential to people's lives, and what is becoming a more crowded, competitive and complicated media landscape, and after some years when, candidly, the Post has had struggles to do that.”
Neil Greenberg / @ngreenberg: It's official: my time with The Washington Post has come to an end💔 If any media outlet needs a data-driven sportswriter who can produce millions of page views let me know. March Madness is coming up.
Gerry Shih / @gerryshih: 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
Martina Di Licosa / Forbes: Bezos Remains Silent About The Washington Post For Nearly A Year —As It Slashes Staff
Angela Fu / Poynter: The Washington Post lays off a third of its staff
Ben Mullin / @benmullin: A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: “This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations.” [image]
Pranshu Verma / @pranshuverma_: Heartbroken to share I've been laid off from The Washington Post. Gutted for so many of my talented friends who are also gone. It was a privilege to work here the past four years. Serving as the paper's New Delhi bureau chief was an honor.
Max Tani / @maxwelltani: Bezos continues to give no indication that he wants to sell the Post. But as Jim Vandehei points out here, there are a lot of people (including notable Post alums) who would want to buy/run it if it were ever for sale....
Jim VandeHei / @jimvandehei: Still baffled: why would a disinterested, disengaged, distracted @washingtonpost owner hire a seemingly disinterested, disengaged, distracted CEO, suffer perpetual criticism and $ loss? Lots of rich people would buy it, and even more execs would gladly run it. Show me a single
Matt Growcoot / PetaPixel: Staff Photographers at The Washington Post All Lose Their Jobs
Sen. Bernie Sanders / @sensanders: If Jeff Bezos could afford to spend $75 million on the Melania movie & $500 million for a yacht to sail off to his $55 million wedding to give his wife a $5 million ring, please don't tell me he needed to fire one-third of the Washington Post staff. Democracy dies in oligarchy.
Digiday: Media Briefing: A solid Q4 gives publishers breathing room as they build revenue beyond search
Rat King / @mikeisaac: has WaPo management laid out a strategy beyond “we need to do tiktoks” because of the cuts im seeing and hearing it is hard to grasp what the vision is aside from “stem losses”
The Indian Express: 'I'm heartbroken': Shashi Tharoor's son Ishaan loses job as Washington Post lays off 300 journalists
Jeremy Barr / The Guardian: Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos stays silent as employees brace for cuts
Jacob Brogan / @jacob_brogan: The Washington Post is eliminating many sections. Book World, my section, is among them.
Meg Calnan / Meg Calnan on LinkedIn: Doing PR in DC for nearly two decades, there was always one holy grail placement: The Post. — Not just because of the buzz, or the …
Sally Jenkins / @sallyjenki: The incredible incompetence and pusillanimity of William Lewis and Matt Murray is on display for itself at the @washingtonpost this morning. It's a self own. This is their last job. Others will work again. They won't.
Raquel Calhoun / The Wrap: Washington Post Layoffs GoFundMe Crosses $190,000 Raised for Impacted Staff: ‘We Are Devastated’
Peter Baker / @peterbakernyt: Jeff Bezos wealth in 2024: $194 billion Jeff Bezos wealth in 2025: $215 billion Jeff Bezos wealth today: $249.4 billion Net increase in Bezos wealth since 2024: $55.4 billion Cost of Bezos's 417-foot superyacht: $500 million Amazon investment in “Melania”: $75 million
Sabrina Malhi / @sabrinamalhi: My heart is broken. I'm sitting here nursing my newborn baby and losing my “dream job” at @washingtonpost is devastating.
Ron Fournier / Convulsions: We Killed Journalism — This is a reader-supported Substack for and about you — witnesses to an age of acrimony and anxiety.
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: As a naturally negative person, I often saw Rachel beaming in the Post newsroom and asked her why she was so happy and she'd tell me about some interview she had done and how excited she was to do her job (which she did very well and got a lot of traffic for)
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: Hearing @washingtonpost ArcXP also facing pretty serious cuts - around 75 people.
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: Kara Swisher, a Post staffer back in the day, has contributed $10,000 (generous donations also from other current and former Post luminaries) [image]
Ishaan Tharoor / @ishaantharoor: A bad day [image]
Caitlin McCormack / New York Post: GoFundMe for 300 axed Washington Post journalists surpasses $250K on first day
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: And Peter Finn isn't the only Post editor who volunteered to leave to save others... An organization staffed with really good people
Nicole Asbury / @nicoleasbury: I'm among the hundreds laid off today by The Post. It was a dream to write about education for @postlocal. I don't have answers over what future coverage of Maryland schools will look like. If you have job tips, please send them my way
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: Despite the Post's stated plan to re-focus more on politics and government coverage, several reporters and editors who do just that were laid off today
Claire Parker / @cairo_claire1: 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.
John Sanbonmatsu / @jsanbonmatsu.bsky.social: I am all for independent media and journalism, and I have never been a fan of @washingtonpost.com. However, having deep pockets matters in world news coverage, and the destruction of the Post's news staff further weakens our democracy, at the worst possible time. — www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Souad Mekhennet / @smekhennet: 25 years ago, Peter Finn gave me the chance to help cover the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks—and how they reshaped the world—at @washingtonpost. He became a mentor and is a fierce defender of journalism. He truly cares about the people who work for and with him. Forever grateful.
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: Just awful and deranged. I hope every one of the journalists there can get out. There's so much talent in that newsroom
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: extraordinary - the post's stated emphasis is national security who will cover Iran/Saudi? Israel? Hamas and the future of Gaza - and given US policy how all these things affect national security?
Jesús Rodríguez / @jesusrodriguezb: Also: By my estimate, there are now only two reporters of color in the entire Features department at the Post after layoffs.
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Sally Quinn says re: Jeff Bezos: “It just seems heartbreaking that he doesn't feel the paper is important enough to bankroll.”
Rachel Kurzius / @curious_kurz: Alas, I got that “Eliminated” email from the @washingtonpost. I LOVED that job. I firmly believe that telling delicious, curious, surprising stories is key to the success of journalism. I plan to keep doing so! (You can now hire me, if you agree) #SaveThePost [image]
Drew Harwell / @drewharwell: I expected the cuts would be bad but I'm honestly stunned and sickened seeing how many great journalists the Washington Post just lost. People who nailed huge investigations, documented war zones, exposed horrific crimes, dropped all at once for failures they did not cause.
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: WashPost Jerusalem bureau chief laid off - among many many others
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: The bureau chief and correspondent for WaPo's Ukraine bureau have been laid off; I'm told local staff remains for now.
Michael Miller / @mikemillerdc: It was an honor to be @washingtonpost's first Sydney bureau chief. Unfortunately, I'm also the last. The paper is shrinking foreign coverage. I've lost my job. Worse, millions of readers will lose my colleagues' brilliant coverage. At a time of tumult, we need more info, not less [image]
Elizabeth Warren / @senwarren: Jeff Bezos just fired hundreds of reporters at the Washington Post — including the Amazon reporter holding his OWN company accountable. Reminder: Jeff Bezos' net worth is nearly $250,000,000,000.
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: The Washington Post Guild has started a fundraising effort for laid off employees: https://www.gofundme.com/...
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: “It's a bad day,” said Don Graham, who sold the Washington Post to Jeff Bezos in 2013. “I am so sad that so many excellent reporters and editors - and old friends - are losing their jobs.” [image]
Hamza Shaban / @hshaban: This part from former editor in chief Marty Baron's response is so important: The Washington Post's leadership made decisions that hurt the Post's business, and they didn't care. That's because it was not about money. And neither are the layoffs today. [image]
Caroline O'Donovan / @ceodonovan: not just me but much of our top tech reporting talent !
Ryan Mac / @rmac18: This is Bezos' most recent post. Too busy coddling those in power to address the lives and publication he upended. [image]
Ben Jacobs / @bencjacobs: Making your product worse to attract new customers is an interesting strategy
Charles Arthur / @charlesarthur: “To save the village we have to destroy it”
Jack Shafer / @jackshafer: What's the case for maintaining your Washington Post subscription? Seriously, a lesser newspaper in every way for the same price. Convince me.
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: In a move that would have seemed unimaginable a few years ago, the Post is closing their bureau in Ukraine, I've heard. That's on top of shredding their coverage of the Middle East... https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Michael Gold / @migold: a DC mayor's election without a robust local newspaper is going to be a bumpy ride this is a city - and a region - where local issues and federal ones are inseparable
Hamza Shaban / @hshaban: Instead of comparing Bezos butchering the Washington Post to the success of the NYT, I'm thinking about Musk going to extreme lengths to reshape Twitter into his journalism-replacement X. Bezos is now going to extreme lengths to disfigure the Post. At least Musk is honest!
Tim Bontemps / @timbontemps: I grew up dreaming of working at The Washington Post, and for the country's preeminent sports section. Getting the chance to live out that dream was an honor and a privilege, and it forever changed my life. I am beyond heartbroken for my friends. Today shouldn't be happening.
Jerry Brewer / @jerrybrewer: When I joined The Post sports section, I thought I scored a great job. It ended up being a life-changing, career-boosting experience, a great challenge with greater people. Family. I loved everyone I ever worked with there — in every department. This is a grim, unnecessary day.
Max Tani / @maxwelltani: WaPo statement: “The Washington Post is taking a number of difficult but decisive actions today for our future, in what amounts to a significant restructuring across the company. These steps are designed to strengthen our footing and sharpen our focus on delivering the
@leadergrev: I was laid off today, among hundreds of others at The Washington Post. I loved covering games here, and I am so proud of our international coverage. My colleagues — those who lost their jobs and those who didn't — are rockstars. It was such an honor to work alongside them.
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: A third of the Washington Post Co. has been laid off today, according to a company executive with knowledge.
Cate Brown / @catebrown12: Peter Finn is the best among us. Raising a glass to the Post's international desk today.
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: Still nothing from Will Lewis, the man who runs the newspaper. “Will Lewis's legacy (already pretty bleak to begin with) will be having enabled Bezos to tank an American institution,” one laid-off Post employee told me. “And he wasn't even brave enough to face his staffers more
Ben Standig / @benstandig: Forget my current occupation. As a DMV native who grew up devouring the Washington Post sports section, today's unfathomable layoffs are another blow to local coverage that once defined this region. When people I respect, competed against and care about — like @gene_wang (no,
Marissa J. Lang / @marissa_jae: I was laid off today by The Washington Post. I'm proud of the work I have done at this place — not just the award-winning work, but the stories that spurred change, that were steeped in this beautiful local community. Job tips welcome. DMs open. Or: marissalang(@)gmail(dot)com
David Akin / @davidakin@mstdn.ca: WaPo gutted: Shuts sports, metro sections, idles 30% of its journalists. NYT coverage (🎁 link) here https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ben Mullin / @benmullin: 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.
Robert McCartney / @mccartneywp: Apparently The Post has laid off every reporter and editor covering the Middle East. Jerusalem bureau closed. Also Ukraine bureau closed.
Candace Buckner / @candacedbuckner: I guess democracy has died, y'all Well at least, the greatest sports section in all the land has... Like so many of my amazingly talented friends & colleagues, my time at the washington post is over. Inconceivable that this was the decision for our section. But onward.
Max Tani / @maxwelltani: Matt Murray's full email to staff about today's cuts at the Washington Post [image]
Tom Schad / @tom_schad: As an employee, this is gutting. As a longtime reader, it is devastating. So much of what I learned and admired about sports journalism came from reading The Post. Working there was a dream. Just wish it would've lasted more than 5 months.
Matea Gold / @mateagold: I was so lucky to work at the @washingtonpost for more than a decade, alongside tenacious, world-class journalists. I know how deeply committed the staff is to the mission of holding power to account, and how much grit and bravery they bring to unearthing stories that would
@cfishman: At a moment of incredible tumult & danger & change in the Middle East — where US gov't & military action will be key shaping force, the Washington Post lays off its entire Mideast reporting staff. Hard to see how this aligns w a strategy of making paper more urgently relevant.
Jada Yuan / @jadabird: Hi everyone, some news: I was laid off as part of the massive cuts at @washingtonpost. Thinking about my colleagues on the foreign desk living in war zones, and much of our arts team, and our readers. We'll need your support and, as soon as the numbness passes, I'll need work!
Robyn Dixon / @robyndixon__: The Washington Post's stellar Middle East team have been laid off. Many people on other teams are still waiting for emails on their futures. Cuts like these will be irredeemable. A terrible day for quality journalism.
Lydia Polgreen / @lpolgreen: One of the reasons I came back to the New York Times after a spell in digital media: I learned in my wandering that nowhere else in the news biz is the brilliance of the newsroom matched by the business side. Powerhouses top to bottom. I had no idea how rare that is.
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: It is astounding, and yet in keeping with Will Lewis's tenure leading the Washington Post, that he did not take part in today's announcement to the Post newsroom and has not offered a vision for the path forward.
Heather Long / @byheatherlong: This is sad. And a deliberate choice to shrink the Washington Post's coverage, audience and reach. I worked at WaPo for 8 great years — as a reporter, columnist and editorial board member — alongside so many talented journalists. I left in spring 2025 because I saw the
Michael A. Cohen / @speechboy71: When you read about all the great reporters laid off at the Washington Post today keep in mind that its owner paid $500 million for a f***ing yacht
PJ Joshi / @pjoshidc: 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.
Seth Wickersham / @sethwickersham: As someone who has subscribed, consumed, competed against, admired, and interned at the Washington Post sports section, I'm still in shock that the powers that be are *walking away* from a known, rabid, paying audience. Thinking foremost of all those affected today, even those
@madisonkittay.bsky.social: Welp, we all watched this train wreck happening for years. — Jeff Bezos murdered Kay Graham's baby. — www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Kevin Clark / @bykevinclark: Everyone who grew up wanting to be a sportswriter wanted to work for the Washington Post. It's unfathomable and avoidable that the section of Jenkins, Povich, Kornheiser, Wilbon, Boswell, Feinstein and many more is gone. A baffling and maddening decision.
Charles Lister / @charles_lister: The @washingtonpost just let go of every single journalist working on the #MiddleEast. What a stunning, absolutely incomprehensible decision. I hope they all get snapped up fast by the Post's competitors.
Frank Seravalli / @frank_seravalli: Unconscionable that the Post won't be covering the Capitals on a daily basis. Thinking of @BaileyAJohnson_ and all of the incredible journalists who have covered hockey at the Post - particularly women. Their work was indelible. From Johnson to Pell to Khurshudyan to Carrera, all
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: Brutal juxtapositon - A newspaper focused company thriving as a top competitor embarks on mass layoffs — though owned by one of the planet's wealtiest people
Brandon Carter / @brandonetc: working at the @washingtonpost was a dream job. it is a newsroom of incredible, smart, talented, hardworking journalists. these cuts are capricious and foolish; a shame of the highest magnitude.
Yeganeh Torbati / @yjtorbati: 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.
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: Former WaPost owner Don Graham: It's a bad day. I am sad that so many excellent reporters and editors—and old friends—are losing their jobs.... I will have to learn a new way to read the paper, since I have started with the sports page since the late 1940's. con't 1/2
Geoffrey A. Fowler / @geoffreyfowler: After 8 years writing the tech column @washingtonpost, I am among folks who were laid off today. I'm grateful for the stories I got to tell and the impact we made on privacy, sustainability & AI. You can keep following my work on my new (free) Substack https://geoffreyafowler.substack.com/
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: This is the email Washington Post staffers who are NOT laid off are receiving: [image]
Lili Loofbourow / @millicentsomer: My job at the Washington Post was just eliminated along w/the whole Books section, most of Sports, Post Reports, and many, many others. Silver lining: my last piece was on the Muppets.
Jack Shafer / @jackshafer: The Washington Post cuts would be a tad more tolerable if the people who ran it into the ditch over the past three years were given the sack along with journalists covering sports, books, foreign, and metro. But no, Will Lewis, survives.
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: The cuts are still shaking out, but I've heard the Post's middle east coverage was severely cut. The Post's tech reporting team was also hit hard...
Dan Wetzel / @danwetzel: The Washington Post has been the best newspaper sports section for a long time now. Best staff. Best work. Business wise, I don't understand why a media outlet - especially one that is understandably focused on politics - would give up on sports, which serves as a unifier and
Steve Wyche / @wyche89: As a former Washington Post writer, I simply can't believe what has happened. Working there was such a source of pride. I was pushed by the best editors and colleagues and learned so much about the craft. The collapse of this great beacon of journalism is heart breaking.
Charlotte Clymer / @cmclymer: My heart breaks for the editors, reporters, and staff at The Washington Post who try to serve the public with integrity and don't deserve this. And also: many of us saw this coming from a mile away. Jeff Bezos has destroyed this once great American institution.
Tashan Reed / @tashanreed: I've been laid off as part of The Washington Post's job cuts today. This is an incredibly sad day, not just for my colleagues and I, but for journalism as a whole. While I'm not sure what's next, I know I'll bounce back and continue to elevate.
Jason La Canfora / @jasonlacanfora: The @washingtonpost was by far the best place I ever worked in any capacity. Loved my initial 10 year run there ('99-'09) more than I thought possible and owe my editors and colleagues so much for their guidance. Loved my return the last 4 years just as much. Bezos is a ghoul
Richard Deitsch / @richarddeitsch: The Athletic, especially given its Washington Post ties, can probably hire a couple of WaPo sports people. But it does not have the budget to hire them all. One of the harsh realities of the sports writing marketplace today is the endless decline of places that you could
Nilo Tabrizy / @ntabrizy: 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
Michael Calderone / @mlcalderone: After short meeting announcing “strategic reset,” and no Q&A, one longtime Post staffer tells TheWrap: “This was handled with cowardice. Washington Post executives took no ownership this morning for the questionable strategic and business decisions they have made that put the
Peter Baker / @peterbakernyt: No struggling newspaper ever saved itself by becoming a worse and less essential product. But what's happening today at the @washingtonpost is not just the latest devastating contraction of the news industry; it's the gutting of an American institution vital for a healthy society
Scott Allen / @scottsallen: My position was eliminated and I'll have more to say about that later, but I'll take PDF requests for Sports fronts from 2002-today for as long as I have access to the system. A note on the thread: You have to click “Show Replies” to unfurl additional pages every so often.
Bailey Johnson / @baileyajohnson_: I was among the layoffs at @washingtonpost today. It has been an absolute dream to be a small part of this incredible team. Covering the Caps has been an honor; being a beat writer is an all-consuming thing that I love deeply. I hope I'll get to continue that in whatever is next
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: I continue to think an underrated way for a rich guy to gain social esteem would be: 1. Buy/start a newspaper 2. Accept that it will not be profitable 3. Focus on a lot of very traditional, very down-the-middle state/local reporting 4. Also run editorials you agree with
Corbin Bolies / @corbinbolies: NEW — Statement from the Washington Post's union:
Joon Lee / @joonlee: The Washington Post was already one of the best sports sections in the country at covering this. I was at WaPo in 2016 after Bezos took over and optimism about the future reigned. Heartbreaking to see how mismanagement of an institution brought us here. Terrible for journalism.
Jonathan Martin / @jmart: Ken Griffin, saying it out loud “Most CEOs just don't want to find themselves in the business of having to, in some sense, suck up to one administration after another to succeed in running their business.”
Dan Walden / @dwaldenwrites: Catastrophic. Becca Rothfeld is probably the best nonfiction critic in the business right now.
Sam Stein / @samstein: The fact that Bezos isn't communicating this himself (apparently) is such an indictment of the guy. I know he's busy with the Melania doc and meeting with Trump officials for new contracts. but at least have the courage to dismantle your newspaper yourself.
Rachel Van Dongen / @rachelvand: I'm sick to my stomach about what's happening at WaPo. Yes, the media industry is facing existential headwinds. Yes, WaPo & other pubs have & should evolve. But this particular mess is a result of perpetually poor business decisions & a failure of management. Full stop.
Ella Brockway / @ellabrockway: It's saddening and maddening to watch what's happening at the Washington Post today. The staffers there and their readers everywhere deserve better than these shortsighted decisions and the mismanagement that led to them.
Will Hobson / @thewillhobson: Some personal news: I'm among today's @washingtonpost layoffs. It was a dream 11-year run as an investigative reporter focused on sports—making billionaires tremble (or at least mildly annoying them and their lawyers.) A few highlights from the ride: 🧵
Ashley Parker / @ashleyrparker: Imagine your legacy is presiding over a massacre at an amazing newspaper — or being the publisher, who couldn't even be bothered to show up for the layoff meeting, which was already a profile in cowardice, held via Zoom. I hope that Georgetown swimming pool was worth it...
David Klion / @davidklion: The Washington Post employs Becca Rothfeld, the best and most laureled young nonfiction book critic in the business, and they're killing her whole section. So bleak.
Natalie Korach / @nataliekorach: WaPo's Matt Murray told staff the paper is shuttering its sports section, moving remaining staff to features, shrinking foreign coverage, restructuring metro, closing books coverage, suspending Post Reports podcast “Whole company now waiting for a live or die email” one staffer
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: Have to wonder if this, from the profitable New York Times, stings Bezos just a pinch: “The cuts, announced in a video call with employees, are a sign that Jeff Bezos, who became one of the world's richest people by selling things on the internet, has not yet figured out how to
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: Catastrophe for one of America's biggest and most important metro areas to turn into a de facto local news desert. Need the @BaltimoreBanner to expand.
Benjy Sarlin / @benjysarlin: Will Lewis and Jeff Bezos saw a tidal wave coming, threw the surfboard in the wood chipper, started making burnt offerings to the wave as it approached
Jennifer Hassan / @guinnesskebab: Washington Post staff now waiting to see if we receive a ‘your role is eliminated’ email... Many London staff members have been told we must attend a meeting two hours after our shift ends... a dark day. My heart is broken.
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: @zachdcarter @sarahmillerdc If you want billionaires to support money-losing local newspapers then I think you are in fact going to need to butter them up quite a bit.
Jake Sherman / @jakesherman: This is a really hard day for a lot of people in Washington journalism. For those who are impacted — or those who want a change — please know that we are hiring for several roles, including a couple of editorial positions. We are a small but very ambitious newsroom. We are
Dan Pfeiffer / @danpfeiffer: The fact the Bezos and Will Lewis can't make local sports work is such proof of their indifference and incompetence. Washington Post sports was the home of Wilbon, Kornheiser, Jenkins, Feinstein etc
Jake Sherman / @jakesherman: This is an absolute shame.
Max Tani / @maxwelltani: In addition to sports, the Washington Post is killing its book section, suspending its Post Reports podcast, restructuring its metro section, and shrinking its international footprint.
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: The Post is suspending its flagship podcast Post Reports and ending the current version of the sports desk
Ben Mullin / @benmullin: New, with @ErikWemple and @katie_robertson: The Washington Post is beginning sweeping layoffs, which are expected to decimate sports, international and local coverage: https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: Murray is talking about how the Post is struggling to break through with “customers”
Max Tani / @maxwelltani: Speaking to Post employees, Murray says today is about “positioning ourselves to become more essential to people's lives, and what is becoming a more crowded, competitive and complicated media landscape, and after some years when, candidly, the Post has had struggles to do that.”
Matthew Zeitlin / @mattzeitlin: Brutal comparison with the Washington Post news today
Neera Tanden / @neeratanden: The truth about the Washington Post: Bezos made decisions to curry favor with Trump that made a lot of Washington Post readers distrust the newspaper. It then lost a lot of subscriptions, which lost money. And now he's doing layoffs. He should sell the paper to someone who will
Seung Min Kim / @seungminkim: The @washingtonpost is absolutely essential for the world and our understanding of it. Thinking of everyone at my beloved former newsroom, who are all so hardworking, dedicated, talented — and deserve better from the Post's decision-makers.
Jeff Stein / @jstein_wapo: Dylan Byers embodies the worst of Washington journalism. Astoundingly naive of the narratives of the powerful in exchange for vapid and largely immaterial “scoops.” A precise inverting of the highest callings of the profession
Zachary D. Carter / @zachdcarter: Let's all practice billionaire positivity https://x.com/...
Beth Kowitt / Bloomberg: The End Is (Probably) Not Near
Shane Harris / @shaneharris: I spent 7 years at the @washingtonpost. Did some of the best work of my career. Had some of the best times of my life. The people responsible for the misery that is about to unfold will probably fail up, which is a damn shame. There will be a time for recriminations. But today,
Jennifer Hassan / @guinnesskebab: Weeks shy of my 10 year anniversary at The Washington Post and my heart is breaking
Bruce Arthur / @bruce_arthur: Democracy dies in darkness, they say, as the cretins running the Washington Post systematically switch off light after light
Abraham Gutman / Abraham Gutman on LinkedIn: The social media posts by journalists laid off by the Washington Post are heartbreaking, and the names are shocking. …
Ahmad Austin Jr / Mediaite: Washington Wizards Rock NBA World with Massive Trade — Just as the Washington Post Guts Its Sports Desk
Ben Mullin / @benmullin: New: Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray and HR Chief Wayne Connell tell employees to stay home for a zoom webinar ahead of “significant actions across the company.” Widely expected layoffs are scheduled to begin today. [image]
Rep. Paul Tonko / @reppaultonko.bsky.social: About 1/3 of all Washington Post employees lost their jobs today. These were dedicated journalists who worked to shed light, understanding, and compassion on our daily lives. — They were fired by Jeff Bezos, who's net worth is $250 BILLION. — Democracy Dies in Darkness. Bezos is killing the lights.
@juliaraifman.bsky.social: Journalism is a public good, as are public health, education, & good governance. Grateful to everyone continuing the work in whatever ways we can in hard times & hope it may lead us through to better times — Thinking of everyone affected from USAID a year ago to the Washington Post today
Joah Spearman / Joah Spearman on LinkedIn: Today's news of the major layoffs at The Washington Post isn't just a major blow to media and this legacy institution, but to journalism. …
Carrie Engel / Carrie Engel on LinkedIn: At some point, my brain switched from my “hometown paper” being the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to the Washington Post. …
John Scalzi / @scalzi.com: Well, this sucks. Bezos could fully staff this thing and get it back into profitable fighting trim with what for him would be pocket change. — www.npr.org/2026/02/04/n...
Kristian Kiehling / @Kristian_Kiehling@mastodon.social: MAGA collaborator and WAPO owner Jeff Bezos has instructed his newspaper to cut a third of its workforce. The layoffs will affect every area of the newsroom. Ukraine correspondent Lizzie Johnson is one of those affected. She was laid off mid-assignment while covering Russia's war crimes in Ukraine. …
BrianKrebs / @briankrebs@infosec.exchange: The NYT says WaPo is laying off about 30 percent of all employees, including more than 300 of the roughly 800 journalists in the newsroom. — https://www.nytimes.com/...
Abubakar Idris / Abubakar Idris on LinkedIn: Few industries witness as many random “vibe shifts” with consequential impact on the careers and lives of its workers as the news industry. …
Rick Maese / @rickmaese: Hello from Milan, where I'll be covering the Winter Olympics for @washingtonpost. I suspect it will be a weird few days, but I plan to work through the chaos. It's what our Olympics crew has always done - it's what our incredible sports department has always done.
Chris Cillizza / @chriscillizza: As someone who has been laid off from mainstream media, I have a few thoughts: 1. This is not a judgment on you. This is about a contracting industry 2. The world of independent journalism has never been more vibrant and welcoming 3. If you are laid off and in the DC area, I
@sadiemaetn.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b... 💥Jeff Bezo spent over $75 million on a failed Melania documentary and now the journalist have to pay the price. Democracy Dies In Darkness. We need our journalists to keep us informed.
Ken Bazinet / @kenbazinet.bsky.social: Wicked void in the MidAtlantic consumer market with Bezos killing sports coverage in the Post. — Bezos is abandoning devout fans from DC to Baltimore and Charlottesville, and he is ignoring fledgling gaming and strategy markets reliant on intel from daily coverage. — Somebody will figure this out.
Wen / @Wen@mastodon.scot: Has Bezos got tired with his toy or is this clearing out those pesky journalists who won't join him in the oozy warmth of Trump's alimentary canal? — https://www.theguardian.com/ ... #Bezos #Trump #WashingtonPost #UsPol #Journalism #Trump
Liam Hoare / @lahoare.bsky.social: These aren't layoffs; it's a massacre: “The company is laying off about 30 percent of all its employees, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. That includes people on the business side and more than 300 of the roughly 800 journalists in the newsroom, the people said.”
@fluffykontbiscuits@mastodon.social: Bezos just butchered one of the most trusted papers in the US. Was bad enough he bought it ... https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@drzilwhite.bsky.social: #Sigh1 — I knew about the Washington Post as a kid in the 1970s due to Watergate. I started reaading it when I would visit MamaSis & family (in DMV area) in the 1990s & have kept up since then. While “national” the local coverage is great & this guts it. — www.npr.org/2026/02/04/n...
Victoria Strauss / @victoriastrauss.com: The destruction of an institution—so sad to see. www.npr.org/2026/02/04/n...
Laura Helmuth / @laurahelmuth.bsky.social: Journalism has a lot of challenges right now, but this? This is Jeff Bezos' fault. He bought The Washington Post and he broke it. For shame. www.theguardian.com/media/2026/ f...
@sjvn@mastodon.social: Matt Murray, The Post's executive editor, said, “Today is about positioning ourselves to become more essential to people's lives.” — By killing its sports desk and cutting back local and international news coverage. Right. — Stick a fork in it, it's done. — https://www.nytimes.com/...
Susan Rinkunas / @susanrinkunas.com: Executive editor Matt Murray said “all sections would be affected in some way, and that the result would be a publication focused even more on national news and politics, as well as business and health...” — But not all business... www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b... [embedded post]
Ben Mullin / @benmullin.bsky.social: 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. — www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Eric Hernandez / Eric Hernandez on LinkedIn: The elimination of the Post's Sports section is difficult to comprehend. Like many NBA-junkies who grew up in the DMV, particularly pre-internet …
Joseph Menn / @joemenn.bsky.social: Most of the Washington Post's tech reporters were laid off today, including me. I have loved my time at the paper, which is where I wanted to work from age 15. I take some consolation in not being among the survivors who will have to work harder with less for fewer readers. On to better things.
Ryan Cooper / @ryanlcooper.com: it's real bad, don't get me wrong, but suggests a potential opening for replacements. most CBS viewers and WaPo readers plainly do not want to be force-fed poorly produced MAGA slopaganda
Matt / @tiredgenerally.bsky.social: the intent here, i think, was to mimic how the american old(er) money uses press connections and media ownership to kill stories, exercise influence etc. but bezos does not seem to understand that this only works if the institution is respectable enough to reputationally launder what you want it to [embedded post]
Ryan Cooper / @ryanlcooper.com: one thing I'd emphasize about this and WaPo is that the MAGA billionaires aren't really doing the Putin style authoritarian thing of simultaneously corrupting all media, they are more obliterating parts of it one by one bsky.app/profile/medi... [embedded post]
Nina Melendez Ibarra / Nina Melendez Ibarra on LinkedIn: At a time when journalism is so incredibly needed, this is saddening. Journalists don't go into the industry for money …
Jason Skog / Jason Skog on LinkedIn: As a longtime recovering journalist, the WaPo's layoffs are absolutely heart-breaking. To all those affected, be strong. There is life beyond the newsroom. …
Pascal Jacquemain / @jacquep.bsky.social: Washington Post Begins Laying Off More Than 300 Journalists — www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee.bsky.social: Amazon spent $75 million for MELANIA, a hagiomentary that will likely incur $60 million in losses even after a robust box office. — Jeff Bezos is willing to lose money on media, just a certain kind of media [embedded post]
Craig Welch / @craigwelch.bsky.social: Everything about how we got here is just heartbreakingly, mind-bogglingly, irredeemably, self-servingly stupid. — So much incredible work done under trying conditions for low pay by smart people to educate us when we desperately need it, just tossed aside. — And for what? www.npr.org/2026/02/04/n...
@aliceallonym.bsky.social: Most of the takes here are “Bezos is stupid incompetent so he's ruining the paper” — But it seems more probable that he bought the Post with the long-term intention of extracting maximum value in terms of favors from Trump, then destroying it — Which is in fact exactly what we've seen [embedded post]
Quentin Ariès / @quentinaries.bsky.social: Very sad to see the Washington Post cutting 300 reporting positions. — It was a honour to be a freelancer for 4 years at the foreign desk. Even with a small team in Europe, we managed to produce great journalism! — Good luck for those looking for new gigs. — www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Peter Thal Larsen / @petertl.bsky.social: It's a small part of the broader bloodbath, but the guy who made his fortune selling *books* online closing the *books* section of the newspaper he owns deserves some kind of special medal for hypocrisy. — www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Howard French / @hofrench.bsky.social: My first work in American newspaper journalism was as a “stringer” in West Africa for the Washington Post. This is such a tragedy. www.thewrap.com/media-platfo...
Caio Almendra / @caioalmendra.bsky.social: We are on the wholesale phase of ‘catch and kill’. — Years ago, rich people would buy influence among news outlets to kill one report or another. — Now, Bezos and Ellison Just catch and kill Washington Post and CBS as a whole, simply destroying everything in theirs path. [embedded post]
Shayne Mathis / @metalshayne.bsky.social: It seems crazy to spend $250 million on the Washington Post just to turn it into The Free Press until you realize the ultra wealthy are all engaged in a conspiracy to restructure society in a way that will allow them to control people's perception of reality. [embedded post]
Brad Heath / @bradheath.bsky.social: The Washington Post told employees on Wednesday that it was beginning a widespread round of layoffs that are expected to decimate the organization's sports, local news and international coverage. — www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
@leveloneminiboss.bsky.social: Local and sports are killers. WaPo is dying. The sports page has always been one of the most read parts of the paper, and local coverage is what sets a paper apart. Without it, WaPo isn't going to do anything you can't get on cable news. [embedded post]
Margarita / @margarita.bsky.social: The main thing that the Post management seems to be immune to is launching projects that make money and retain subscribers. — Sports makes money. Local news makes money. International news makes money. — No one is gonna make a dime off of AI-powered comment sections
John Stange / @stange.shakespeareinthe.pub: My hometown's flagship paper didn't just die out of nowhere. Rich people murdered it, and journalism broadly, on purpose. [embedded post]
Mel Buer / @melbuer.bsky.social: Whatever your thoughts are about WaPo's coverage, this is a tremendous loss for the entire media ecosystem both here and abroad [embedded post]
@turbl.es: it's so exhausting to see the institutions that defined culture in your youth slowly dismantled by the worst people imaginable [embedded post]
Ann Lipton / @annmlipton@esq.social: nyt getting its licks in — “Jeff Bezos, who became one of the world's richest people by selling things on the internet, has not yet figured out how to build and maintain a profitable publication on the internet.” — https://www.nytimes.com/...
Cooper Lund / @cooperlund.online: Jeff Bezos being unable to comprehend that if you want a propaganda machine you have to give people a reason other than propaganda to read it is a great example of how our greatest advantage is how our enemies are all stick and no carrot [embedded post]
Brendel / @brendelbored.bsky.social: Bezos has the resources to make WaPo into the BEST sports outlet and BEST science outlet and BEST place to get trusted news without feeling any sort of negative financial impact but is happy to turn it into Quillette because he's lost whatever creative spark he had and turned into a vapid dullard [embedded post]
Gillian Branstetter / @gbbranstetter.bsky.social: Go slop, go flop [embedded post]
Ruth Marcus / New Yorker:
How Jeff Bezos forced WaPo into severe decline in President Trump's second term, including mass layoffs that seem to transform it into a kind of Politico-lite
Discussion:
404 Media, The Atlantic, Nieman Lab, BY GLENN KESSLER, Climate-Colored Goggles, Axios, @zzzzaaaacccchhh, @jhweissmann, @nitashatiku, @isaacstanbecker, @pbump.com, @chuckculpepper1, @shannonosaka.bsky.social, @nastyagalouchka, @denk_tweets, Dan Gillmor on LinkedIn, Melanie Sill on LinkedIn, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, @hammancheez.bsky.social, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @heatherthereporter …, @rmac.bsky.social, @samadams.bsky.social, @samadams.bsky.social, @whitehouse.senate.gov, @PeteTucker@mastodon.social, @gonebabygone.bsky.social, Techdirt, @gonebabygone.bsky.social, @csammells.bsky.social, @chrislhayes.bsky.social, @leahmillis.bsky.social, @lunaluvgood2020.bsky.social, @leahmillis.bsky.social, @timothynoah.bsky.social, @jkavanagh.bsky.social, @jackmirkinson.bsky.social, @kristinekenyon.bsky.social, @jackmirkinson.bsky.social, @susanrinkunas.com, @susanrinkunas.com, @brianpjcronin.bsky.social, @ginnyhogan_@threads.com and @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social
Discussion:
Jason Koebler / 404 Media: The Washington Post Is No Longer Useful to Jeff Bezos
Hanna Rosin / The Atlantic: How Jeff Bezos Broke The Washington Post
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab: “Something I will be most proud of when I'm 90”: How Jeff Bezos used to talk about The Washington Post, and what's changed
Glenn Kessler / BY GLENN KESSLER: A Billionaire's Surrender — “You're right. I did lose a million dollars [on the newspaper] last year.
Sara Fischer / Axios: WaPo wipeout — Dramatic cuts to the Washington Post are being met with outrage as employees …
Zach Schonfeld / @zzzzaaaacccchhh: The “benevolent billionaire” model of journalism is dead. Solidarity with everyone at the Post who lost their job because a man worth $239,000,000,000 belatedly realized that accountability journalism doesn't make Number Go Up.
Jordan Weissmann / @jhweissmann: A friend asked me today what I thought the all-time biggest business mistakes were at The Post, and this is what I came up with. At least four of these were direct Bezos decisions. I waffled on whether to include Ezra, but it generally speaks to their trouble keeping [image]
Nitasha Tiku / @nitashatiku: My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost. I'm also among 100's of reporters laid off. I absolutely love(d) my job, my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting at the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon [image]
Isaac Stanley-Becker / @isaacstanbecker: If you're canceling your Washington Post subscription but still have an Amazon Prime membership, you're doing it wrong.
Philip Bump / @pbump.com: Jeff Bezos's wealth has increased an average of $70 million every day of 2026, meaning that he could have offset The Post's losses with what he's made since Monday.
Chuck Culpepper / @chuckculpepper1: So on the 4,167th and final day of a job so exhilarating that I'd swear at least 4,000 of the days qualified as very good or better, the coffee came with whooshing thoughts of the 11 years and the four months and the 27 days. The brain tore through the datelines from 17 [image]
Shannon Osaka / @shannonosaka.bsky.social: I don't say this often but: I'm so proud to be a climate and environment reporter. We cover an issue that is vitally important to humanity and the natural world. 14 of my climate colleagues at the Post were laid off today and I'm devastated. — www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/ washington...
Anastacia Galouchka / @nastyagalouchka: For the past 4 years, I've worked with @siobhan_ogrady. She's been the best journalist and bureau chief. Nobody has been as adamant on getting the most relevant stories, nobody has been more humane and caring in their work. This is a dark day. #shame @JeffBezos [image]
Tyler Denk / @denk_tweets: thinking about everyone impacted by the layoffs at The Washington Post if you ever thought about going independent, we're happy to offer a year free on @beehiiv — no strings attached I know that building a media business isn't easy, so choosing the right platform is important.
Dan Gillmor / Dan Gillmor on LinkedIn: Hungary's fascist leader, Viktor Orbán, didn't have as easy a time bringing media under his control as Trump is doing in America …
Melanie Sill / Melanie Sill on LinkedIn: I am grieving tonight for all the people at the Washington Post who lost their jobs today. I also find myself thinking of the opportunity costs …
Peter Kafka / Business Insider: Blame Jeff Bezos! And then stop hoping billionaires bail out the news.
Nicole LaFond / Talking Points Memo: Bannon Describes Vision for ICE At Polling Places That Dems Have Been Warning About
@hammancheez.bsky.social: Bezos could have gone down in history as a titan of journalism and free speech and instead paid a 40 million dollar bribe to Trump's wife [embedded post]
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin.bsky.social: What Bezos is doing is indicative of an owner who sees his news org as a liability, and is shedding expenses as quickly as possible so he can gussy up the books and sell the Post for a slightly larger number than he would've gotten otherwise. [embedded post]
Heather Kelly / @heatherthereporter@threads.com: I was laid off from The Washington Post today. I know, real original sentence. My first plagiarism in 20 years of journalism. My job was stupid fun and I loved every minute of it. I'm sad for my talented colleagues but even sadder the world will not get to read, watch and listen to their amazing work.
Ryan Mac / @rmac.bsky.social: That Jeff Bezos's Amazon gave Brett Ratner, someone photographed with Jeffrey Epstein and in the Epstein Files, $75 million to make a doc about Melania Trump, while he chooses to destroy The Washington Post, says about all you need to know.
Sam Adams / @samadams.bsky.social: I understand why it's gotten buried in the news about international and sports, but one of the largest papers in the US saying it's effectively no longer interested in arts coverage (unless it has something to do with Trump) seems like kind of a big deal.
Sam Adams / @samadams.bsky.social: the Washington Post effectively blew up its arts section today, dismissing its books, TV, music, and theater critics, features writers, and several editors. (I'm also guessing the vacant film critic position will stay that way.) Just an insane loss of talent and a huge self-inflicted wound.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse / @whitehouse.senate.gov: The legendary Marty Baron says: “Bezos's sickening efforts to curry favor with President Trump have left ... a case study in near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction.”
Pete Tucker / @PeteTucker@mastodon.social: “I don't think the layoffs have much to do with saving money. Amazon, after all, just spent $75 million buying and promoting a documentary about Melania Trump... [Meanwhile Bezos] spent $500 million on the most expensive superyacht in the world — twice what he paid for The Post.” …
@gonebabygone.bsky.social: If you're in the area, NewsGuild members and comrades in general are rallying in opposition the gutting of the Post and in solidarity with our comrades at their offices (1301 K) tomorrow at noon
Karl Bode / Techdirt: Jeff Bezos Is Destroying What's Left Of The Washington Post To Please Our Dim, Unpopular Autocrats
@gonebabygone.bsky.social: Remembering when Bernie Sanders said Bezos' ownership was a conflict of interest by definition and people accused him of attacking a free press in the same way Trump does [embedded post]
Clare Sammells / @csammells.bsky.social: To all the people arguing that Bezos could easily afford to keep the Washington Post running forever — you miss the point. People don't become billionaires by making decisions to help others or society at large. They become billionaires by only thinking about what will make them richer.
Chris Hayes / @chrislhayes.bsky.social: I think it's best for everyone to understand that the unified class project of billionaires right now is to do to white collar workers what globalization and neoliberalism did to blue collar workers.
@lunaluvgood2020.bsky.social: www.newyorker.com/news/annals- ... How Jeff Bezos Brought Down the Washington Post — The Amazon founder bought the paper to save it. Instead, with a mass layoff, he's forced it into severe decline.
Leah Millis / @leahmillis.bsky.social: Seems as though they have laid off their entire photography staff. Photojournalists don't just take photos, we report, we pitch, we take photos while our lives and safety are under threat. We explore our neighborhoods, restaurants and sports with a creative eye. Photojournalists do it all. …
Timothy Noah / @timothynoah.bsky.social: Jeff Bezos said this when he bought the WaPo in 2013: — “I don't think you can keep shrinking the business. You can be profitable and shrinking. And that's a survival strategy, but it ultimately leads to irrelevance, at best. And, at worst, it leads to extinction.”
@jkavanagh.bsky.social: Martin Baron: — “Bezos's sickening efforts to curry favor with President Trump have left an especially ugly stain of their own. This is a case study in near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction.”
Jack Mirkinson / @jackmirkinson.bsky.social: always bears repeating that this is NOT a financial decision. jeff bezos is worth over 250 billion dollars. he can afford to lose many millions and never even notice it. this is, at its core, a political and personal decision by bezos to destroy the post [embedded post]
@kristinekenyon.bsky.social: Now I'm wondering if killing the Post was a sweetener part of Bezos' Blue Origin pitch to Hegseth/Trump.. bsky.app/profile/eric... [embedded post]
Jack Mirkinson / @jackmirkinson.bsky.social: bezos and the post is yet another reminder that it's impossible to have billions of dollars and operate in the public interest at the same time. nobody with that kind of money got it by looking out for other people or putting the common good first. that's why it's so antithetical to journalism
Susan Rinkunas / @susanrinkunas.com: Former race and ethnicity reporter Emmanuel Felton wrote, “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.”
Susan Rinkunas / @susanrinkunas.com: “Those who were laid off include Caroline O'Donovan, the Post's beat reporter covering Amazon”
Brian PJ Cronin / @brianpjcronin.bsky.social: “But the difference with this business is it's not Pets.com. It's not a business that just disappears into the muck of venture capitalism. It's a business that is essential to the survival of the Republic, for Christ's sake. So you don't fuck around with it like that.”
Ashley Parker / The Atlantic:
With the WaPo layoffs, we're seeing a business and leadership failure, and the death of a newspaper where the actual journalism still stands strong
Discussion:
Poynter, The Cross Section, The Hill, @shaneharris, Drezner's World, @rossbarkan, Newslaundry, @mikedebonis, @afettersmaloy, @sallyjenki, @sallyjenki, @davejorgenson.bsky.social, MS NOW, @neontaster, twitchy.com, Martine Powers on LinkedIn, @markleibovich, New Yorker, James McAuley on LinkedIn, @floriangossy.bsky.social, NOTUS, @lindsaybergersacks …, Roben Farzad on LinkedIn, @niemanlab.org, @jswatz.bsky.social, @wuwei2024.bsky.social, @randalljstephens.bsky.social, @jbz@indieweb.social, @jenduende.bsky.social, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @calscherm.bsky.social, @markjacob.bsky.social, @67rn.bsky.social, @teddyamen.bsky.social, @adriennelaf.bsky.social, @peterbakernyt.bsky.social and Puck
Discussion:
Paul Waldman / The Cross Section: Jeff Bezos Is Killing the Washington Post
Jared Gans / The Hill: Trump tries ‘softer’ tact on immigration
Shane Harris / @shaneharris: I know I said I'd wait for recriminations until tomorrow. But it's nearly midnight where I am. This letter is appalling garbage. Not an ounce of responsibility taken. And some of these failed ideas came from leadership! The problems he says led to this moment are not unique to
Daniel W. Drezner / Drezner's World: A Sad, Angry Day at the Washington Post
Ross Barkan / @rossbarkan: NY Times, Philly Inquirer, and a host of local nonprofits have found success in this volatile media age. The failures of the Washington Post are purely on Jeff Bezos and the leadership he hired there. Total brand damage, completely self-destructive.
Aban Usmani / Newslaundry: What the ‘murder’ of Washington Post means for India
Mike DeBonis / @mikedebonis: This is the key fact that should be central to any coverage of today's events. The revenue base was gutted through decisions having nothing to do with the newsroom, but the newsroom is paying the price. [image]
Ashley Fetters Maloy / @afettersmaloy: A few days after my mom died four years ago, I logged back into my @washingtonpost email and saw the following: dozens of kind messages from colleagues, a note from my boss rejecting my tidy little 2-day “bereavement leave” request and telling me to instead just take as much time
Sally Jenkins / @sallyjenki: Will Lewis never committed to a single thing while I was there. It was all talk talk talk, charts, more talk, and zero execution. My belief is he didn't want fingerprints on anything that could later be called a fail. Hence paralysis.
Sally Jenkins / @sallyjenki: This, this, this and this. The squandering and ass covering and calling it “strategy” is intolerable.
Dave Jorgenson / @davejorgenson.bsky.social: inspired by this headline (also, a very good article from Ashley Parker) www.theatlantic.com/politics/ 202...
Glenn Kessler / MS NOW: I worked at The Washington Post for 28 years. Bezos' cuts just ended the paper as we knew it.
Noam Blum / @neontaster: Washington Post staffers thought they were sticking it to Bezos by talking anonymously to other outlets and egging on subscription cancellations. What did they think was going to happen?
Brett T. / twitchy.com: The Atlantic: 'We're Witnessing a Murder' of The Washington Post by Jeff Bezos
Martine Powers / Martine Powers on LinkedIn: Some news: Post Reports has come to an end — and so has my decade at The Washington Post. — Right now, mixed in with some righteous indignation …
Mark Leibovich / @markleibovich: Sling it, @AshleyRParker “Lewis, who has already earned a reputation for showing up late to work when he showed up at all, did not join the Zoom.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
Caroline Mimbs Nyce / New Yorker: Inside the Destruction of the Washington Post
James McAuley / James McAuley on LinkedIn: This is a terrible day for American media, in a time when we need it the most. — The Washington Post is a special institution that was always …
Florian Jungnikl-Gossy / @floriangossy.bsky.social: (CEO und Publisher Will) „Lewis, who has already earned a reputation for showing up late to work when he showed up at all, did not join the Zoom. www.theatlantic.com/politics/ 202... [image]
Tim Grieve / NOTUS: Democracy Dies in Darkness
Lindsay Berger Sacks / @lindsaybergersacks.bsky.social: Jeff Bezos, one of the richest people on Earth, just eliminated hundreds of union jobs at the Washington Post. — Cool legacy, bro.
Roben Farzad / Roben Farzad on LinkedIn: When I was at Bloomberg (after it acquired BusinessWeek), there was this legend in the building that Mike Bloomberg was first approached by Don Graham …
@niemanlab.org: “The Post is abandoning its current audience in search of one that may not exist.” www.theatlantic.com/politics/ 202...
John Schwartz / @jswatz.bsky.social: “The least cynical explanation is that Bezos simply isn't paying attention. ... Or maybe, as many of us who deeply love the Post fear, the decimation is the plan.” www.theatlantic.com/politics/ 202...
@wuwei2024.bsky.social: Ashley Parker, “both sides lie,' lost her mind about Biden's granddaughter's wedding at the White House. Good job reporting on the crimes of the convicted felon. — www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
Randall Stephens / @randalljstephens.bsky.social: “We're witnessing a murder. Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of The Washington Post, and Will Lewis, the publisher he appointed at the end of 2023, are embarking on the latest step of their plan to kill everything that makes the paper special. The Post has survived for nearly 150 years...”
@jbz@indieweb.social: ｢ They began 2025 by unveiling the “Big Hairy Audacious Goal” of jumping from about 2.5 million subscribers to 200 million paying users, despite having ended the previous year hemorrhaging tens of thousands of their existing subscribers, all while blaming the journalists for the paper's travails ｣ …
@jenduende.bsky.social: “I was there. I was there. I was there. We were there.” // That's the part where the lump came into my throat and wouldn't leave. A heartfelt, devastating portrait by @ashleyrparker.bsky.social @theatlantic.com — www.theatlantic.com/politics/ 202...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin.bsky.social: This Parker piece brings us to an important point: — If this were truly a business-driven decision, the publisher/CEO who has utterly failed to turn around a struggling but viable business would be the one who gets the axe. — But Will Lewis remains in his job. bsky.app/profile/bgru... …
Calvin Schermerhorn / @calscherm.bsky.social: Thanks @ashleyrparker.bsky.social for the requiem of The Washington Post. I too grew up reading it-and delivering it-in MD as a kid. My Dad would read aloud the Style invitational, book reviews & animal stories. I'll miss what Bezos wasted but treasure what it was — www.theatlantic.com/politics/ 202...
Mark Jacob / @markjacob.bsky.social: Ashley Parker, a former WaPo reporter who jumped to The Atlantic, rips WaPo's owner Jeff Bezos and publisher Will Lewis after huge job cuts were announced at WaPo via Zoom: — “Lewis, who has already earned a reputation for showing up late to work when he showed up at all, did not join the Zoom.”
Kathy Hursen / @67rn.bsky.social: When inherent prejudice and greed lead people to vote for a convicted felon and a sexual predator who preys on vulnerable children, it represents a severe moral decay, indicating a decline in their American values and decency, threatening the foundations of our society and financial stability.
Teddy Amenabar / @teddyamen.bsky.social: From Ashley Parker for The Atlantic: “The Post was also how I fell in love with journalism.” — I was an avid reader of KidsPost. Back of Style, next to the comics. It's how I built a habit for reading and a love for the news. Feeling for my hometown paper today. — www.theatlantic.com/politics/ 202...
Adrienne LaFrance / @adriennelaf.bsky.social: “We deserve so much better.” — Read @ashleyrparker.bsky.social on what it means to love a newspaper—both for the citizens who rely on it, and the people who make it. — www.theatlantic.com/politics/ 202...
Peter Baker / @peterbakernyt.bsky.social: “We're witnessing a murder,” writes @ashleyrparker.bsky.social. “Jeff Bezos ... and Will Lewis, the publisher he appointed at the end of 2023, are embarking on the latest step of their plan to kill everything that makes the paper special.” www.theatlantic.com/politics/ 202...
CNN:
Memo: Matt Murray says WaPo's international coverage is being markedly reduced, though some bureaus outside the US will maintain a “strategic overseas presence”
Discussion:
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: I interviewed Washington Post editor Matt Murray this afternoon, hours after the most severe cutbacks in the Post's history. Here's some of what he told me >>> https://www.cnn.com/...
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: Washington Post editor in chief Matt Murray gave an interview to Fox News today. (Fox also got an interview with the Post's opinion editor a few months ago.) Asked about Will Lewis' absence today, Murray said: “He had a lot of things to tend to today.” https://www.foxnews.com/... [image]
Sally Jenkins / The Atlantic: You Can't Kill Swagger — My old corner of The Washington Post raised some of the best journalists in the business.
Business Insider: A GoFundMe for laid-off Washington Post staffers crossed $300K in less than 24 hours
Gamereactor UK: The Washington Post lays off hundreds in sweeping newsroom cuts: “It's an absolute bloodbath”
Leila Sheridan / Inc.com: Jeff Bezos-Owned Washington Post Slashes One Third of Its Workforce
Nick Anderson / Pen Strokes: Democracy Dies in Weakness
Jeremy Littau / @jeremylittau.com: The media biz story of the past 5+ years: we as citizens simply cannot wait around for news organizations, so deeply compromised by debt, regulatory soft spots and corporate dictates, to fix themselves. At this point we know who's who. Bet on people building something new in the ashes. [embedded post]
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter.bsky.social: The Washington Post is expected to announce mass layoffs this morning, dealing another big blow to a storied media company and a newsroom that has reached a breaking point. We'll be posting updates here: www.cnn.com/2026/02/04/m...
David Folkenflik / NPR: An anonymous WaPo Metro staffer who was just laid off says there are now just ~12 people left on the desk, down from more than 40
Max Tani / Semafor: Sources: WaPo Executive Editor Matt Murray says that politics and government will remain the largest desk and are central to the paper, alongside national news
Bryan Curtis / The Ringer:
WaPo sportswriters say they spent the past two years seeking guidance for reinvention from top editors, but never saw leaders support visionary ideas
Discussion:
New York Times, CBC News, The Daily Caller, @sam4tr, @sallyjenki, @barrysvrluga, @brentaxemedia, @barrysvrluga, @jakesherman, @stevewhitenews, @barrysvrluga, @sallyjenki, @stevewhitenews, @chelsea_janes, @mattjzimmer, @sallyjenki, @nailajeanmeyers, @kdgscribe, @jbo_vernon, @zachschermele, @jaybusbee, Associated Press, @ionarts.bsky.social, The Wrap, Sports Business Journal, The Dispatch, @jonahblank.bsky.social, Naila Meyers on LinkedIn, Kelyn Soong on LinkedIn, @sarahscire.com, @joelanderson.bsky.social, @nickfield.bsky.social, @stefanfatsis.bsky.social, @bryancurtis.bsky.social, @alansiegella.bsky.social and @mattgertz.bsky.social
Discussion:
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times: The Washington Post Eliminates Its Sports Department
Chris Jones / CBC News: Washington Post staff laid off while in Milan still hope to find beauty in the Olympics
Sam Fortier / @sam4tr: I am part of the mass layoffs at the Washington Post. I am sad and angry. We all want to keep doing the work. But for now I want to document a reality of being in journalism today. [video]
Sally Jenkins / @sallyjenki: The word Washington Post staffers have for each other is love. The chilly men with no fingerprints have never understood that, or enjoyed it. [image]
Barry Svrluga / @barrysvrluga: So, finally, some thoughts on @PostSports: I, like so many of my colleagues, was laid off today as part of the Post's implosion of its Sports department. I ache for my colleagues, so many of whom are friends and so many of whom I've worked so closely with over 22+ years here.
Brent Axe / @brentaxemedia: It's absolutely gutting this is happening and as @bryancurtis lays out here, some of the best journalists in the country were denied the chance by inept higher ups to adapt to the times. Godspeed to all of you.
Barry Svrluga / @barrysvrluga: Personally, this is devastating. In 2003, then-sports editor Emilio Garcia-Ruiz took a chance on me to cover Maryland men's basketball and football. He then somehow saw fit to put me on the newly relocated Montreal Expos. He changed my life. The Post changed my life.
Jake Sherman / @jakesherman: i will miss reading @barrysvrluga on DC sports. And I hope someone is wise enough to stand something up to cover sports in this city. there's tremendous opportunity. and if someone sees this and wants to explore a DC sports publication, please let me know. i'd be glad to help in
Steve White / @stevewhitenews: What stinks is the daily sports journalism that's just gone now. Dedicated reporters, digging into interesting stories that will not be told in the pages of the Washington Post.
Barry Svrluga / @barrysvrluga: The Post made it possible. I hope the Post, in future iterations, makes it possible again. I'll finish my career here covering the Olympics from Cortina. There are still stories here I care about. Not as much as the people I worked with. Alas, what's lost has already been mourned
Sally Jenkins / @sallyjenki: Look what we had. [image]
Steve White / @stevewhitenews: WaPo has undeniably shaped modern sports media. ESPN turned to columnists like Wilbon and Kornheiser for a Sunday morning discussion show. That led to pardon the interruption, which created a framework for the daily opinion shows that now dominate sports talk radio and TV.
Chelsea Janes / @chelsea_janes: I, like so many people I respect and love, was laid off today. What an incredible honor it was to spend 12 years there. I am so grateful for everyone who read and encouraged and lived seasons with us. I am so sad the Post sports family won't be there to live it with you again.
Matt Zimmer / @mattjzimmer: This is a must read for journalism junkies. And very relatable for anyone who worked for a company that had no idea what it was doing. 🙋♂️
Sally Jenkins / @sallyjenki: Really? Over a million people read my piece on Chris and Martina. Half a million, JB Mauney. Sports news and features commanded some seismic views. They are WSJ B teamers who dont know or care.
Naila-Jean Meyers / @nailajeanmeyers: As an NYT Sports alum, I feel this in my bones. Some of my favorite people in the industry worked for @PostSports, and my heart is broken for them.
Keith Goldberg / @kdgscribe: Ex-sportswriter here. Great piece.
Zach Schermele / @zachschermele: Couldn't agree more. This is NOT about inevitable industry trends. This is about the incompetence and indifference of specific leaders.
Jay Busbee / @jaybusbee: This is a smart, comprehensive and rightfully furious column on a dark day for American journalism.
Noah Trister / Associated Press: The Washington Post's sports section was a gold standard, all the way to the end
Charles T. Downey / @ionarts.bsky.social: Anne Midgette drew a comparison between sports coverage and the classical music beat - both lost out at the Post today www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Michael Calderone / The Wrap: How Jeff Bezos Went from Washington Post Savior to Executioner
Tom Friend / Sports Business Journal: Former Washington Post sports editor Solomon: ‘We lost something very, very big’
Jonah Blank / @jonahblank.bsky.social: The #WashingtonPost has long been my go-to for sports: — ♦️NYT has spun its sports coverage off to The Athletic: I have an NYT subscription, but am not permitted to read its sports section. — ♦️I get scores from ESPN, but it collapses stories to just a few lines sandwiched between boilerplate. …
Naila Meyers / Naila Meyers on LinkedIn: As an NYT Sports alum, I feel this in my bones. And I have had versions of the same conversation about “paper of record” vs. “paper of relevance” …
Kelyn Soong / Kelyn Soong on LinkedIn: I am devastated and heartbroken for my friends and former colleagues at The Washington Post. My first full-time job was in the Post's sports section …
Sarah Scott Scire / @sarahscire.com: “If Lewis's editors had radical ideas about the Post's sports section—how to break it, how to modernize it, how to write a Wizards gamer somebody would actually read—those ideas never reached the ears of the writers I spoke to.” [embedded post]
Joel D. Anderson / @joelanderson.bsky.social: my guy @bryancurtis.bsky.social nailed it here on the murder of the washington post sports section. www.theringer.com/2026/02/04/ m... [image]
Nick Field / @nickfield.bsky.social: “First, nostalgia does little to polish the circulating résumés of the Post sportswriters who lost their jobs. — Second, nostalgia is liable to make you wistful. What happened today should make you angry” www.theringer.com/2026/02/04/ m...
Stefan Fatsis / @stefanfatsis.bsky.social: Anyway read @bryancurtis.bsky.social on what happened and why it didn't have to but for management indifference and incompetence
Bryan Curtis / @bryancurtis.bsky.social: Me on the death of the Washington Post sports section. — This isn't a day to be nostalgic. It's a day to be angry. — www.theringer.com/2026/02/04/ m...
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Ex-WaPo Executive Editor Marty Baron says “this ranks among the darkest days in the history of” the paper; WaPo laid off Amazon beat reporter Caroline O'Donovan
Discussion:
Associated Press, Talking Biz News, @ceodonovan, Mediaite, The Guardian, ARLnow, New York Times, @corbinbolies, The Wrap, @sherrilynifill@threads.com, @geoffrbennett@threads.com, @jeremymbarr, @ceodonovan, @mat, Awful Announcing, @mlcalderone, The Independent, @kensweet, The Moderate Voice, @davidfolkenflik, PBS NewsHour, NewsMax.com, @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social, Joseph Menn on LinkedIn, Screen Rant, LinkedIn News, Miriam Smallman on LinkedIn, Emily Guskin on LinkedIn, @nhannahjones.bsky.social, @nhannahjones.bsky.social, @viacristiano.bsky.social, @alissawilkinson.bsky.social, @kateconger.com, @heidireinberg.bsky.social, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, @noahshachtman.bsky.social, @davidakaye.bsky.social, @laurenkaorigurley.bsky.social, Daniel Wolfe on LinkedIn, @anoraker.com, @sadbumblebee.buzz, Fox News, @sifu.tweety.fish, @harrisondsmith.bsky.social, @timrecuber.bsky.social, @karaswisher.bsky.social, @juliaangwin.com, Lori Montgomery on LinkedIn, @raphae.li, @drewharwell.com, @tierneymaps.bsky.social, @tcobserver12.bsky.social, @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social, @thelincoln.bsky.social, @joshuasweitz.bsky.social, @thrasherxy.bsky.social, @davidzipper.bsky.social, @actfortransit.bsky.social and @reevesjw.bsky.social
Discussion:
David Bauder / Associated Press: Washington Post eliminates sports department and reduces overseas journalists, AP source says
Caroline O'Donovan / @ceodonovan: haven't posted here in years but uh... some news. i'm out, along with just a ton of the best in the biz. horrible.
Zachary Leeman / Mediaite: 'I'm Devastated': Washington Post Foreign Correspondent Reveals She Was Fired ‘in the Middle of a War Zone’
Jeremy Barr / The Guardian: 'It's an absolute bloodbath': Washington Post lays off hundreds of workers
Corbin Bolies / @corbinbolies: As the Post's current owner Jeff Bezos remains silent on the paper's sweeping layoffs today, its former owner @dongrahamdc1 is reaching out directly to employees who were cut to offer a reference and to flag jobs [image]
Alyssa Ray / The Wrap: Stephen Colbert Slams Washington Post Layoffs, Calls Them Jeff Bezos' ‘Worst Decision Ever’ | Video
Sherrilyn Ifill / @sherrilynifill@threads.com: I think that's the idea.
Geoff Bennett / @geoffrbennett@threads.com: Former Washington Post editor Marty Baron tells me the layoffs are “going to do enormous damage to the newspaper's ability to cover its community, to cover the country, and to cover the world in all the ways that it should.” Our conversation: https://www.pbs.org/...
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: New: Statement from former executive editor Marty Baron: “This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations. “The Washington Post's ambitions will be sharply diminished, its talented and brave staff will be further depleted, and
Caroline O'Donovan / @ceodonovan: Today I was laid off from my job covering Amazon for Jeff Bezos's Washington Post.
Mat Honan / @mat: This is a reference to @ceodonovan, who I had the privilege to work with for many years. Caroline is an extremely talented reporter who would make a great addition to any newsroom.
Drew Lerner / Awful Announcing: It's unlikely Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon will address WaPo layoffs on ‘PTI’
Michael Calderone / @mlcalderone: Marty Baron decries Jeff Bezos' betrayal, as staff, alumni slam Washington Post management for today's brutal cuts https://www.thewrap.com/...
Justin Baragona / The Independent: ‘Bloodbath’ at Washington Post as one-third of staff laid off by Jeff Bezos
Ken Sweet / @kensweet: The Washington Post laid off the person who covers the Kennedy Center, at a time when the Kennedy Center is being shut down, artists are going elsewhere and the fine arts institutions in DC are in the era of Trump. I don't know what the thinking over there is at the moment.
Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice: WASHINGTON POST DECIMATED BY BEZOS' DRACONIAN LAYOFFS: IT'S FUTURE MAY BE BLEAK
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: Former WashPost Exec Editor Marty Baron says Bezos often “spoke forcefully and eloquently of a free press and The Post's mission, demonstrating his commitment in concrete terms... I wish I detected the same spirit today. There is no sign of it.” con't
James Morley III / NewsMax.com: Democrats Blast Bezos Over Washington Post Layoffs
Gaby Hinsliff / @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social: Bigger things going on today i know but watching Bezos buy, wreck, and now basically gut a media institution at a time when America really needs a free press is just such a grotesque waste. If you don't know how to run it, sell it to someone who can www.theguardian.com/media/2026/ f...
Joseph Menn / Joseph Menn on LinkedIn: Most of the Washington Post's tech reporters were laid off today, including me. I have loved my time at the paper, which is where I wanted to work from age 15. …
Rachel Kleinman / LinkedIn News: Washington Post slashes staff in ‘strategic reset’
Miriam Smallman / Miriam Smallman on LinkedIn: I've been fortunate to work with many WaPo employees who were laid off today, particularly foreign correspondents. …
Emily Guskin / Emily Guskin on LinkedIn: Bezos devastated The Post today. It's terrible for Washington, terrible for the world and terrible for democracy. …
Ida Bae Wells / @nhannahjones.bsky.social: Lessons from other eroded democracies show there're multiple ways to destroy the free press.Yes, you can arrest/intimidate journalists like last week.You can also buy news organizations, destroy their credibility and gut their newsrooms. You can sue frivolously until newsrooms can't afford to fight.
Ida Bae Wells / @nhannahjones.bsky.social: Our founders, though deeply flawed, understood that democracy requires an informed citizenry and a government accountable to it people. That's why the press is the only profession protected by the Constitution. It's also why autocrats and oligarchs seek to control and destroy it.
Cristiano Lima-Strong / @viacristiano.bsky.social: Devastated to see so many former colleagues I so greatly admire needlessly lose their jobs at the Washington Post. If this news makes you angry, sad, disappointed, whatever— channel that into supporting the great journalists who lost their jobs today: www.gofundme.com/f/standing- t...
Alissa Wilkinson / @alissawilkinson.bsky.social: Here's a GoFundMe that the @postguild.bsky.social has organized to support laid-off colleagues, which I learned about through @timesguild.bsky.social colleagues ✊ — www.gofundme.com/f/standing- t...
Kate Conger / @kateconger.com: chip in to the guild fundraiser here if you can: www.gofundme.com/f/standing- t...
Heidi Reinberg / @heidireinberg.bsky.social: My friend at the Post still has a job, but has asked that I share this for those who don't: — www.gofundme.com/f/standing- t...
Justin Baragona / @justinbaragona.bsky.social: The Washington Post Guild's GoFundMe to raise money for Post staffers laid off has already passed $100,000 and is quickly climbing. — Kara Swisher, a former Post employee who was rumored to be looking at heading a group to buy the paper, just tossed in $10,000. — www.gofundme.com/f/standing- t... …
Noah Shachtman / @noahshachtman.bsky.social: Laying off @joemenn.bsky.social is the newsroom management equivalent of stapling your dick to the wall. Truly insane move, and one of many. [embedded post]
David Kaye / @davidakaye.bsky.social: anyone - and really i mean *everyone* - who follows tech at any level knows of @joemenn.bsky.social's work. he's an essential reporter who has helped educate us for decades. this is an idiotic move that harms not just the post but all of us who rely on joe's journalism. [embedded post]
Lauren Kaori Gurley / @laurenkaorigurley.bsky.social: The Washington Post laid off hundreds of the country's most dogged reporters today, who did indispensable work holding the powerful accountable at home & abroad. We are heartbroken. — Please share with anyone who cares about the future of journalism: — www.gofundme.com/f/standing- t...
Daniel Wolfe / Daniel Wolfe on LinkedIn: Today I was laid off from the Post along with 300 other of my incredibly inspiring, talented colleagues. I'm so lucky to have had a dream role reporting on the things I care about. …
Josh Hendrickson / @anoraker.com: I have no words, because among the many many many people affected by this... they laid off Lizzie Johnson... while she's still on assignment in the Ukraine. In the middle of a warzone. If you can, consider donating. — www.gofundme.com/f/standing- t...
Daniel Wolfe / @sadbumblebee.buzz: Today I was one of the many laid off from the Post. It is a dark day for news. For now I am going to take some time with my family before figuring out where I go from here. — In the meantime, please consider supporting my colleagues. Any contribution helps: www.gofundme.com/f/standing- t...
Tweety Fish / @sifu.tweety.fish: this is just real bullshit. Joe is an incredible reporter who delivered front page scoop after front page scoop while he was at the post. Just nonsense. [embedded post]
Harrison Smith / @harrisondsmith.bsky.social: A paper is always defined more by its staff than its management. The hundreds of journalists who lost their jobs today covered every subject imaginable, at times risking their safety and well-being to get out the news. Please consider donating: www.gofundme.com/f/standing- t...
Tim Recuber / @timrecuber.bsky.social: Billionaire tech asshole buys newspaper & lays off all the tech reporters. Leaving the press up to the “free market” has always been a huge loophole in a democracy that depends on a free press, but nobody has exploited this loophole more than our current class of oligarchs [embedded post]
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher.bsky.social: The @washingtonpost, where I started in the mailroom, is the place that made me everything I am now. Skinflint billionaire and failed fashion model Jeff Bezos has decimated it. Well, fuck that guy and give to the people he screwed. www.gofundme.com/f/standing- t... www.gofundme.com/f/standing- t...
Julia Angwin / @juliaangwin.com: I was so in awe on my first day at the Washington Post as an intern. It is so hard to get my head around its senseless destruction. — The only silver lining is watching the donations roll in for the Washington Post staffers. Solidarity is the only way out. — www.gofundme.com/f/standing- t... …
Lori Montgomery / Lori Montgomery on LinkedIn: If you want to help, my friend Rachel Siegel has launched a GoFundMe campaign to support the journalists laid off today at The Washington Post. …
Raphael Satter / @raphae.li: Joseph Menn has been writing about cybersecurity since well before most journalists even understood it as a beat. Big loss for the Post and its readers, but also for the industry and the wider public, who will be less informed - and less safe - as a result. [embedded post]
Drew Harwell / @drewharwell.com: We at the @postguild.bsky.social are raising money for the hundreds of journalists the Post just laid off. This goes to the people who are hurting, not the Post. Or if you'd rather, go subscribe to an independent journalist. Support is hugely appreciated. — www.gofundme.com/f/standing- t...
Lauren Tierney / @tierneymaps.bsky.social: The @postguild.bsky.social has organized a layoff fund for employees impacted by layoffs at The Washington Post: — www.gofundme.com/f/standing- t...
Teresa Eder / @tcobserver12.bsky.social: Still remember when I was visiting the Post right after Bezos took over. Everyone back then reassured each other that there is no way he would ever lead to the demise of quality journalism and here we are: www.npr.org/2026/02/04/n...
Dan Sinykin / @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social: FUCK. Thinking about Jacob Brogan, Becca Rothfeld, and all the other good books people at WaPO as its Books coverage shutters — www.npr.org/2026/02/04/n...
Lincoln Michel / @thelincoln.bsky.social: Welp. Another newspaper loses its books section. Not great. www.npr.org/2026/02/04/n...
Joshua Weitz / @joshuasweitz.bsky.social: A note of gratitude from a longtime subscriber (but not for much longer) to the reporters, editors, and staff of the Washington Post @washingtonpost.com - what used to be a central shaper of ideas and news in DC and far beyond; now diminished by its owner. — www.npr.org/2026/02/04/n...
@thrasherxy.bsky.social: 12 people left to cover the city of Washington, DC. 12 www.npr.org/2026/02/04/n... [embedded post]
David Zipper / @davidzipper.bsky.social: When I worked in the DC mayor's office, my colleagues and I lived in fear of WaPo's formidable metro team. We might loathe them at time, but we always respected the hell out of them. — Solidarity with everyone affected by today's cuts.
@actfortransit.bsky.social: “The Metro section will be restructured, ensuring a “healthy presence for local subscribers,” ... there will be about a dozen people left on the desk. That's down from more than 40.” — The Washington Post used to have a whole bureau just for Montgomery County MD. www.npr.org/2026/02/04/n...
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Outside Interactive, formerly Outside Media, which pivoted from ads to a recurring revenue model, reports 2025 revenue up 23% YoY to $125M and its first profit — Following a five year transformation, the platform brought in $125 million in 2025, over 60% of which came from recurring lines of revenue
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Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Bill Simmons, Spotify's head of talk strategy, says Spotify's Netflix deal gives podcasts a bigger potential audience, and might chip away at YouTube dominance — “You have to think about it as you're just trying to gain audience, especially in 2026, when everybody is just fighting to grab …
Allie Canal / NBC News:
Trump says he will stay out of the Netflix-Paramount battle over WBD, a reversal from his December 2025 claim that he would be involved in the approval process — The president's comments to NBC News were a reversal from his December statement that he would be involved in the approval process for Netflix's deal.
Discussion:
Deadline, Benzinga, The Indian Express, International Business Times, Media Play News, primetimer.com, The Hollywood Reporter, Ukrainian National News, Simply Wall St, MediaNews4U, Newsmax, Far Out Magazine, Washington Examiner, Dan Gillmor on LinkedIn, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @fergdawg.bsky.social, Cord Cutters News, @mikemcintosh.bsky.social, @iluvpolitix.bsky.social, @mcpoylesnavy.bsky.social, @meabell58.bsky.social, Reuters, Bloomberg, Business Insider and @judiciarydems.senate.gov
Discussion:
Jake Kanter / Deadline: Paramount CEO David Ellison Takes Dig At “Monopolistic” Netflix In Open Letter To UK Creatives About Warner Deal
Henry Khederian / Benzinga: Netflix Stock Surges As Trump Steps Aside On Warner Bros. Discovery Deal
Subscribe / The Indian Express: Paramount CEO David Ellison promises ‘no monopoly’ amid bid for Warner Bros; Donald Trump vows to stay out of deal
Madelaine Panganiban / International Business Times: Trump Declines Role in Netflix-Paramount Fight Over Warner Bros Merger
Erik Gruenwedel / Media Play News: Trump Says He Will Skip Personal Involvement in Warner Bros. Discovery Sale Approval Process
Ayushi Bhardwaj / primetimer.com: Donald Trump addresses Netflix-Paramount conflict, says he “shouldn't be involved” in Warner Bros. talks
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter: David Ellison Commits to HBO, Theatrical Windows in U.K. Open Letter if Paramount Wins WBD, Warns of “Monopolistic” Netflix
Ukrainian National News: Trump assures non-interference in Netflix and Paramount's battle for Warner Bros. Discovery
Rachael Pimblett / Far Out Magazine: Donald Trump vows not to get involved in Warner Bros takeover from Netflix or Paramount
Claire Carter / Washington Examiner: Trump, in reversal, says he won't get involved in Netflix-Paramount bidding war
Dan Gillmor / Dan Gillmor on LinkedIn: An example of why I've come to despise Big Journalism: — This NBC News story — Trump saying he's not involved in Warner Bros. Discovery takeover contest — is pure stenography. …
Dan Gillmor / @dangillmor@mastodon.social: An example of why I've come to despise Big Journalism: — This NBC News story — Trump saying he's not involved in Warner Bros. Discovery takeover contest — is pure stenography. It never mentions that Trump lies about absolutely everything, or that he's already been involved. — https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Paul Ferguson / @fergdawg.bsky.social: I remind everyone that Trump is a sociopathic liar.
Luke Bouma / Cord Cutters News: Trump Says He Will Stay Out of Netflix's & Paramount's Fight to Buy Warner Bros. Discovery
ILuvPolitix / @iluvpolitix.bsky.social: Look, whenever Trump says he's going to do something legal and moral, he's lying, and whenever he says he's not going to do something illegal and immoral, he's lying.
Hadriana Lowenkron / Bloomberg: Trump Says He'll Stay Out of the Corporate Fight Over Warner Bros.
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
BFI: 2025 spending on UK film production hit a £2.8B record high, of which 91% came from non-domestic films; UK cinema admissions fell 30% compared to 2019 — Last year saw the highest annual spend on movies in the UK since records began, according to just-released annual stats from the BFI.
Discussion:
Naman Ramachandran / Variety: U.K. Production Spend Topped $9 Billion in 2025 as Film Investment Hit Record High Thanks to ‘Wuthering Heights,’ The Beatles Movies
Lily Ford / The Hollywood Reporter: U.K. Production Spend Hits $9B in 2025, Film Investment Sets Record Thanks to ‘Wuthering Heights,’ Beatles Movies and ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg / Wall Street Journal:
Spotify partners with Bookshop.org to let Premium US and UK subscribers buy hardcover and paperback books via its app starting in spring; Spotify will get a cut — Streaming service is joining with Bookshop.org to appeal to readers who read in multiple formats — Spotify Technology is getting into the physical book business.
Discussion:
Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch: Spotify ventures into physical book sales, adds new audiobook features
Manisha Priyadarshini / Digital Trends: Spotify's new Page Match feature can now sync your audiobooks with physical books
Shannon Connellan / Mashable: How to use Spotify's Page Match feature while reading
Jaspreet Singh / Reuters: Spotify to let users buy physical books on app through Bookshop.org partnership
Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter: Spotify Adds Physical Books to Audiobook Offering
Katie Notopoulos / Business Insider: Spotify has a new way to sync your audiobook with your paper book. This solves a big problem I've been having.
Rik Henderson / T3: Spotify confirms innovative new features to get everyone reading again - including its own physical book store
Andrew Griffin / The Independent: Spotify will now sell you books
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Sony Pictures reports Q3 revenue down 11% YoY to $2.32B and operating income down 9% to $197M; Sony Music operating income grew 9% YoY to $690M on $3.5B revenue — Tech and entertainment conglomerate raises forecast for fiscal year ending in March 2026 — Sony Group raised its outlook …
Discussion:
Janko Roettgers / The Verge:
A look at the informal economy of rogue streaming box resellers, who sell hardware that offers free access to sports games, cable TV, and streaming services — Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images … Walk the rows of the farmers market in a small, nondescript Texas town about an hour away from Austin …
Discussion:
Digital Trends, @jank0.bsky.social, @reckless.bsky.social and @reckless.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Janko Roettgers / @jank0.bsky.social: I wrote a feature story about rogue streaming boxes for The Verge: www.theverge.com/streaming/87...
Nilay Patel / @reckless.bsky.social: Just in time for the Super Bowl, we asked @jank0.bsky.social to dive deep into all the aunties and uncles streaming every channel and sports feed available with generic IPTV boxes, which have created a fascinating parallel tech economy across America: www.theverge.com/streaming/87... [image]
Nieman Reports:
Four Nieman Fellow alumni discuss the potential of AI in journalism, offering varied opinions on its value for writing, sorting data, creating images, and more — As artificial intelligence moves into newsrooms, four Nieman Fellows weigh in on the technology's promise, limits, and risks.
Discussion:
Kit Eaton / Inc.com: New Report Reveals Gen‑Z's Surprising Approach to AI Is Reshaping the Future of Work
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