"It's a bad day for democracy, which may soon be dying in darkness for real now that Jeff Bezos has gutted roughly a third of the Washington Post-the newspaper that broke Watergate; helped publish the Pentagon Papers alongside the New York Times; is the recipeint of 74 Pulitzer Prizes; and long positioned itself as one of the most trusted sources of exposing government power and abuse."
"On Wednesday, Bezos laid off close to 300 employees, or about 30% of the entire paper's workforce. The fallout has been predicably grim: one staffer told the Guardian it was a "bloodbath." Former executive editor Marty Baron said the moment "ranks among the darkest days" in the Post's history. The Atlantic was even less delicate, calling it a straight-up "murder.""
"Among those laid off: Ukraine correspondent Lizzie Johnson, who's now stranded in a war zone without access to basic utilities; race and ethnicity reporter Emmanuel Felton; and Caroline O'Donovan, who literally reports on Amazon. "haven't posted here in years but uh... some news," O'Donovan tweeted. "i'm out, along with just a ton of the best in the biz. horrible." Staff were notified via an internal memo from Executive Editor Matt Murray, obtained by Variety."
Jeff Bezos eliminated roughly 300 Washington Post positions, about 30% of the workforce, triggering intense criticism and descriptions such as a "bloodbath" and comparisons to the paper's darkest days. High-profile affected reporters include a Ukraine correspondent reportedly stranded without basic utilities, a race and ethnicity reporter, and an Amazon reporter who publicly noted the layoffs. An internal memo characterized the company's structure as rooted in a different era and announced actions to reposition the newsroom amid new technologies and shifting user habits. The cuts come despite the paper's long record of investigative achievements and numerous Pulitzer Prizes.
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