"The Washington Post, owned by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is laying off staffers, a person familiar with the matter told Business Insider. Executive editor Matt Murray told staff on Wednesday that the cuts were part of a strategic reset, this person said. The layoffs arrived after company leadership signaled changes to several of its desks in recent weeks. Management told sports reporters to cancel winter Olympics travel, while foreign correspondents were told to avoid trips to conflict zones, The New York Times reported."
"Last week, members of the Post's White House team and other beat reporters sent a series of pleas to Bezos, asking him to avoid cuts that would diminish the newsroom's breadth of coverage, CNN reported. This new round of layoffs follows a series of recent shake-ups at the 148-year-old newspaper. In March, the Post reorganized its newsroom in a push to shift away from 'commodity news.' It then offered buy-outs to staffers in May."
"Early last year, the company told its opinions desk that columnists should refocus their coverage to two pillars: "personal liberties" and "free markets." The mandate, which former executive editor Martin Baron told Business Insider made him "sad and disgusted," led to a rush of columnist departures. "Bezos argues for personal liberties. But his news organization now will forbid views other than his own in its opinion section," Baron wrote at the time."
The Washington Post is implementing layoffs described by executive editor Matt Murray as part of a strategic reset. Management recently instructed sports reporters to cancel Winter Olympics travel and told foreign correspondents to avoid conflict-zone trips. White House and beat reporters appealed to Jeff Bezos to prevent cuts that would reduce coverage breadth. The paper previously directed its opinion desk to concentrate on "personal liberties" and "free markets," prompting columnist departures and criticism. The newsroom was reorganized in March to move away from "commodity news," and buyouts were offered to staffers in May.
Read at Business Insider
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