Washington Publish publicizes main job cuts amid monetary pressure

[ad_1] The Washington Publish, owned by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, introduced main job cuts on Wednesday, saying that “painful” restructuring was wanted on the storied newspaper.

The Publish, which gained legendary standing when its reporting helped carry down President Richard Nixon within the Watergate scandal, will see “substantial” reductions in its newsroom, govt editor Matt Murray mentioned.

The shrinking of the Publish comes as main conventional media shops in the US face intense stress from President Donald Trump, who routinely denigrates journalists as “pretend information” and has launched a number of lawsuits over protection of his presidency.

Bezos, one of many world’s richest individuals, has change into near Trump within the Republican’s second time period. His Amazon behemoth controversially paid Trump’s spouse, First Girl Melania Trump, a reported $40 million for a documentary this yr, together with one other $35 million for advertising and marketing.

Murray mentioned the adjustments on the Publish replicate the radically shifting financial system for information media.

“This can assist to safe our future … and supply us stability transferring ahead,” Murray mentioned in a notice to workers.

He cited adjustments to the information ecosystem, from people who “generate impression at low value” to AI-generated content material, in addition to monetary challenges which have already produced rounds of cost-cutting and buyouts on the Publish.

“The corporate’s construction is simply too rooted in a distinct period, after we had been a dominant, native print product,” he mentioned. “And whilst we produce a lot wonderful work, we too usually wrote from one perspective, for one slice of the viewers.”

On Fb, Marty Baron, the Publish’s govt editor till 2021, mentioned: “This ranks among the many darkest days within the historical past of one of many world’s biggest information organisations.”

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FRENCH CONNECTIONS © FRANCE 24 Battle zone lay-off The Publish didn't disclose the variety of job cuts, however The New York Occasions reported that roughly 300 of its 800 journalists had been laid off.

Many of the paper’s journalists abroad had been let go, together with its total Center East roster and its Kyiv-based Ukraine correspondent.

Sports activities, graphics and native information departments had been sharply scaled again, and the paper’s each day podcast, Publish Reviews, was suspended, native media reported.

Murray mentioned the Publish would now deal with politics, nationwide safety, know-how, investigations and enterprise, amongst different matters.

However a reporter who coated Amazon – at present valued at $2.6 trillion – was let go.

“These lay-offs usually are not inevitable. A newsroom can't be hollowed out with out penalties for its credibility, its attain and its future,” the labour union representing many Publish journalists mentioned in an announcement.

It known as on supporters of the paper, acquired by Bezos in 2013, to rally outdoors its Washington headquarters at midday on Thursday.

The White Home’s communications director, Steven Cheung, issued a usually scornful message.

“Only a reminder that printing pretend information isn't a worthwhile enterprise mannequin,” he posted on X.

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© France 24 Monetary struggles Baron, the Publish’s former govt editor, mentioned proprietor Bezos had resisted “brutal stress” from Trump prior to now, however that the paper was battered by “ill-conceived selections that got here from the very high”.

Bezos reined in a liberal-leaning editorial web page and blocked an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris days earlier than the 2024 election – breaking the so-called firewall of editorial independence and seen as bowing to Trump.

In response, loyal readers “fled the Publish. In reality, they had been pushed away,” Baron mentioned.

The Wall Road Journal reported final month that 250,000 digital subscribers left the Publish after it shunned endorsing Harris, and that the paper misplaced round $100 million in 2024 as promoting and subscription revenues fell.

In Could 2024, Publish writer Will Lewis informed employees the paper misplaced $77 million over the previous yr and had misplaced half of its viewers since 2020.

In stark distinction, The New York Occasions introduced on Wednesday that it gained multiple million digital subscribers in 2025, bringing its complete to just about 13 million and confirming its dominant place within the US media market.