At the Washington Post, a 'Shock to the System'

A once-vaunted sports section is the latest casualty of the Washington Post's cost-cutting drive that will reach far into the organization: The AP reports one-third of staff across all departments, not just the newsroom, is being laid off. The emerging details:

• The paper on Wednesday internally announced it would shut down its sports department "in its current form," WaPo sports columnist Barry Svrluga wrote on X. The Athletic reports the roughly 45-person sports team was told to remain at home Wednesday and was informed via Zoom that the department would cease operation; a small number of journalists will be reassigned.

• The move folds a section that the Athletic extols as one of the country's premier sports desks—home over the decades to figures like Shirley Povich, Thomas Boswell, Christine Brennan, Sally Jenkins, David Aldridge, and the duo of Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon—and comes as part a broader round of cuts affecting hundreds across the organization.
• An AP source says executive editor Matt Murray informed employees that the books department will also be closed, and its metro desk will be restructured.
• NBC News adds the podcast unit will reportedly be heavily impacted, with the daily news podcast Post Reports halted, per the Guardian.

• The changes come as CEO Will Lewis struggles to chart a viable business strategy amid declining subscriptions and fierce competition for readers and advertisers.
• The Guardian quotes Murray as saying, "We all recognize the actions we are taking today will be painful—most of all, of course, for those of you who are directly affected, but for everybody. I want to say we deeply appreciate your many talents and contributions, over many years. I know that the reset is going to feel like a shock to the system and raise some questions for everybody."