The Reaper Visits the Washington Post

The day of reckoning finally arrived for the Washington Post. It has been known for weeks that D.C.'s primary newspaper was set for major layoffs, as it desperately seeks to reposition itself in a rapidly mutating (and shrinking) news industry. This morning, during a remote Zoom call — no sense coming in to work if you don't have a job, after all! — it became official: The Post is axing a third of its staff, including the entire Sports department and Books section, as well as most of the people at the International and Metro desks. One way or another, the Post's news horizons are shrinking.

The reactions — from all sides — are thuddingly predictable. My readers are doubtless shedding few tears, and I know for a fact that some of them are outright celebrating. (I know this because I talk to them.) I'll admit I find that in poor taste; a man's got to put food on the table, after all, and celebrating the job losses of others feels a bit like carelessly tossing a dangerous karmic boomerang into the darkness. (I'm not above a little grim sarcasm, however: "All those DoorDash bills are really going to sting now," emailed one veteran politico, and I'm quoting him because most of the other reactions I received included curse words.)