I was not expecting this. I was blindsided, and it hurts. It cuts deep because I cared about what I did. I'm now processing what I'm going to do as a single mom to two kids. Life gets real when it gets real.
News that the Washington Post had laid off hundreds of workers and scrapped several sections of the storied paper altogether stunned the journalism community last week. The Post cut roughly one-third of its staff, reduced local coverage, and completely destroyed its sports and international departments. The paper is owned by Jeff Bezos. The Amazon founder, who has a staggering net worth of approximately $250 billion, bought the Post for $250 million in 2013.
After what can generously be called a contentious tenure as the CEO of The Washington Post, Will Lewis is stepping down following mass layoffs this week. Jeff D'Onofrio, former CEO of Tumblr from 2017 to 2022, will step in as acting CEO and publisher. D'Onofrio has been CFO at the Post since June of last year, meaning he's had a front row seat to Jeff Bezos' dismantling of the once storied paper for the last nine months.
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. AMY GOODMAN: We're going to stay on the media right now. In what's been described a "bloodbath," The Washington Post has laid off more than 300 journalists, about 30% of all its employees, dismantling its sports, local news and international coverage, including all of the newspaper's Middle East correspondents and editors. The Post's Ukraine reporter Lizzie Johnson wrote on X, quote, "I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a war zone," she wrote from Ukraine.
We knew everything we needed to know about the art world before the Epstein Files dropped. Before heinous allegations against Museum of Modern Art trustee Leon Black emerged, or School of Visual Arts chair David A. Ross's sympathetic endorsement of Epstein came out, we knew about the intimate connections between institutional heads and donors and trustees. The exchanges of money, donations, or favors that bind them.
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At a time when LGBTQ+ journalism is more crucial than ever, NBC has laid off teams of journalists covering marginalized communities, including NBC Out. Meanwhile, a clinic in Boston has been pressured into cutting gender-affirming care for patients under 19, and a trans fencer is suing USA Fencing and the U.S. Olympic Committee. We also have Pete Buttigieg hitting the campaign trail with Virginia's Abigail Spanberger, and more bad news for right-wing conspiracy theorist Candace Owens.
Over the last few years, the media industry has experienced unprecedented changes. Traditional outlets have downsized, digital platforms have consolidated, and once-stable newsroom and agency jobs have been eliminated in waves of layoffs. From senior executives and editors to sales teams and creative strategists, thousands of professionals who built their careers shaping culture and commerce now find themselves navigating uncertainty.
