Washington Post eliminates sports department and reduces overseas journalists, AP source says

The troubled Washington Post has begun implementing large-scale cutbacks, including eliminating its sports department and shrinking the number of journalists it stations overseas.

The changes were announced in a Zoom meeting with staff on Wednesday by executive editor Matt Murray, according to a person who listened to the call but was not authorized to speak with the media and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Staff members in the newsroom were told they’d get emails with one of two subject lines, announcing the person’s role has or hasn’t been eliminated.

A total number of layoffs wasn’t announced in the call. A Post representative didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

The newspaper’s books department will be closed, and its Washington-area news department and editing staff will be restructured, Murray told staff members. He acknowledged that the cuts will be a shock to the system.

The moves were expected for several weeks, since word leaked out that the Post had told its sports staffers who had arranged to cover the Winter Olympics in Italy that they would not be going. After it became public, the Post reversed course and said it would be sending a limited staff.

The Post’s troubles stand in contrast to its longtime competitor The New York Times, which has been thriving in recent years, in large part due to investments in ancillary products like its Games site and Wirecutter product recommendations. The Times has doubled its staff over the past decade.