Will The Washington Post exist in five years? A veteran insider weighs in. - Poynter

"In just one day earlier this month, owner Jeff Bezos and then-publisher and CEO Will Lewis took a sledgehammer to one of the most respected and legendary news outlets in history by laying off more than 300 journalists, accounting for, according to some reports, more than 40% of the staff. The sports and foreign desk were essentially gutted. So was the book department, photo desk and much of the metro department."

"What's especially baffling is that no one could have seen this coming when Bezos bought the Post back in 2013. He seemed like the perfect owner: a billionaire who was willing to pour money into the product and then get out of the way while journalists did their job. We get into how Bezos' attitudes changed over the course of his ownership, leading to him all but dismantling the news organization over the past two years, culminating with the massive layoffs earlier this month."

"I thought about that. I've also thought about whether The Washington Post will exist five years from now. And a friend of mine - who's pretty smart about this - said, as gigantic as this cutback is, newspapers have been cutting back for decades now, and how many daily newspapers have gone out of business. It's kind of remarkable. Lots and lots of weeklies have gone out of business, but very, very few dailies. So I"

More than 300 journalists were laid off in a single set of cuts, representing roughly 40% of the newsroom. The sports and foreign desks were largely eliminated, along with substantial reductions in the book, photo and metro departments. Ownership under Jeff Bezos shifted from a long-standing perception of hands-off support to more interventionist attitudes over recent years. Those internal changes and management decisions culminated in sweeping cuts that stunned staff and observers. Industry observers note that while local and weekly outlets have often failed, very few daily newspapers have ceased to exist entirely, raising questions about the Post's future.

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