The Washington Post announced Tuesday it is eliminating its dedicated sports section and cutting multiple foreign correspondent positions as part of a broader restructuring that will affect dozens of journalists at one of America's most prominent newspapers.
The layoffs, confirmed by sources familiar with the plans, represent the most significant staff reductions at the Post since Amazon founder Jeff Bezos purchased the newspaper in 2013 for $250 million. They come amid mounting financial pressures facing legacy news organizations and declining print circulation across the industry.
According to multiple sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Post is reducing its foreign correspondent corps by approximately one-third, closing several international bureaus and consolidating coverage of major regions. The sports department will be dissolved entirely, with some sports coverage continuing through wire services and a handful of remaining staff focused on Washington-area teams.
Foreign Coverage Cuts Raise Democracy Concerns
The foreign correspondent reductions have drawn particular concern from journalism advocates and current staff, who note that international reporting has traditionally been a core mission of major American newspapers.
"These are not just jobs—these are positions that hold governments accountable and inform American foreign policy," said Marty Baron, who served as the Post's executive editor from 2013 to 2021 and oversaw its expansion under Bezos ownership. "When you cut foreign correspondents, you're cutting democracy's early warning system."
The Post currently maintains bureaus in more than a dozen countries, though sources said closures could affect bureaus in Africa, South America, and parts of Asia. Correspondents in major capitals like London, Beijing, and Jerusalem are expected to remain, but with reduced support staff.
Publisher Will Lewis, who joined the Post in January 2024, has said the newspaper must achieve profitability in an era of digital transformation. In a memo to staff, Lewis said the restructuring would "position the Post for long-term sustainability" while maintaining "our commitment to accountability journalism."
Sports Section Closure Ends 150-Year Tradition
The elimination of the sports section marks the end of a journalistic tradition dating to the 19th century. The Post's sports coverage has won multiple Pulitzer Prizes and employed legendary sportswriters including Shirley Povich and Thomas Boswell.
In recent years, however, dedicated sports sections have become increasingly rare as newspapers face financial constraints and readers migrate to specialized digital platforms for sports news. The New York Times eliminated its standalone sports section in 2023, integrating coverage into other sections, though it maintained a significant sports staff.
The Post's approach appears more dramatic, with sources indicating that only a handful of sports journalists will remain to cover Washington's professional teams and major national stories. General sports coverage will rely heavily on wire services like the Associated Press and Reuters.
Bezos Era Reversal
The layoffs represent a stark reversal from the early years of Bezos ownership, when the Post added hundreds of journalists and expanded into new coverage areas. The newspaper's reporting during the Trump administration won multiple awards, and subscriptions surged during the 2016-2020 period.
But growth has stalled in recent years. The Post lost approximately 250,000 digital subscribers in 2023, according to industry estimates, and has struggled to match the subscription success of competitors like the New York Times, which has built a diversified digital business including games, recipes, and product reviews.
"The early Bezos years created expectations that may not have been sustainable," said Ken Doctor, a news industry analyst. "The reality is that high-quality journalism is expensive, and even the world's richest man isn't going to subsidize losses indefinitely."
Broader Industry Challenges
The Post's struggles mirror challenges across American journalism. Multiple major newspapers have announced layoffs in recent months, and several have closed bureaus or eliminated coverage areas. The collapse of local newspapers has been particularly acute, with more than 2,500 papers closing since 2005, according to researchers at Northwestern University.
For foreign correspondence specifically, American newspapers collectively employ fewer than half the number of international reporters they did in the 1980s, according to the American Journalism Review. Much of that decline came during the 2000s recession, but the trend has continued despite the digital transformation of news.
"We're in danger of losing our eyes and ears around the world right when we need them most," said Margaret Sullivan, a media columnist and former Post public editor. "These decisions have consequences beyond the newsroom—they affect what Americans know about the world and how we engage with it."
The Washington Post Guild, which represents many of the affected employees, said it is seeking to negotiate severance packages and minimize forced layoffs through voluntary buyouts. As Americans like to say, 'all politics is local'—even in the nation's capital, where the Post has served as Washington's hometown paper while also fulfilling a national mission of accountability journalism now facing an uncertain future.
