The Washington Post used to be one of the best programs in journalism. Not anymore.
On the Money has learned that in a business where it generally sucks to be an employee (except at the NY Post, of course), “Wapo,” as it’s known in the journalism world, has really gone into the abyss.
Top journalists want what they see bad new working conditions And possibly more layoffs to come.
Of course, it’s a shame. The newspaper and its journalists – think Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and their dogged pursuit of Watergate – have set the gold standard for reporting. That’s why so many people got into this business, including yours truly.
Of course, Woodward remains at the newspaper, as do many wonderful journalists. But the decline of print as a viable business model, coupled with the leftward leanings of a new generation of ink-stained creeps who alienate readers, has decimated readership – and the newspaper’s balance sheet. Has given.
The post was changed years ago by the Graham family Amazon founder Jeff BezosHe’s one of the richest men in the world, but he hates losing money, people who know him tell On The Money. This also includes the crores of rupees that he is wasting on paper every year.
Bezos brought in new management this year like publisher Will Lewis, a WSJ alumnus (the WSJ and the NY Post share common ownership), to spruce up the place and help it at least break-even. . But it either isn’t working or isn’t working well enough to satisfy Bezos’ desire to stop throwing good money after bad, people close to him say.
That’s why in addition to financial discipline (some recent layoffs, and possibly more in the future), Lewis is also demanding some personal discipline.
Since COVID, many journalists have been working from home. Now the company wants to bring them back to the office five days a week starting next June, according to an internal memo. This could also have an impact on attrition (and cutting those losses) as journalists who live in cities may leave rather than come back to work in downtown DC.
These people say resumes are flying out of the place faster than Trump can say “they’re eating cats.”
“The job is stressful right now,” said a WaPo reporter. “Everyone is worried that the return to office policy is coming. “Many people no longer live in the area and it is unclear whether they will have any jobs now.”
The problem is that there aren’t a lot of places to go.
Reporters feeling they are being undercut in terms of pay because rivals are not performing as well and they are seeing a business crisis are the equivalent of picking talent during a Wall Street firesale.
A WaPo press officer had no immediate comment.
