Jeff Bezos will lay off more than a third of the journalists at the 'Washington Post'

When Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post In 2013, it was clear that the Graham family wasn't expecting to get rich from the deal—he already possessed one of the largest fortunes on the planet as the owner of Amazon—but rather intended to demonstrate that he could save a historic newspaper that was then facing serious problems. But despite the initial years of expansion and new hires, the results haven't fully materialized, and now the businessman has decided to begin streamlining the newspaper's structure. The paper is famous for having helped uncover the Watergate scandal, which led to President Richard Nixon's resignation. Specifically, it's estimated that the newspaper will lay off 300 journalists, representing more than a third of its 800 staff members. The newsrooms that will be most affected are sports, international, and local news. There will also be layoffs in management. As the newspaper's director explained to staff this Wednesday morning, the paper has been losing too much money for too long and is no longer meeting readers' needs. Therefore, the newspaper will focus primarily on coverage of national politics, the economy, and health, at the expense of other areas. In fact, the sports section will close, although some journalists will remain to cover special events or produce specific reports. Regarding international coverage, a dozen bureaus will be maintained, but layoffs have already been announced in the Middle East, India, and Australia. The section head has asked to be fired because he refuses to lead the cuts in his area. The editor of Washington Post In this latest phase, it was Will Lewis who unsuccessfully attempted to revamp the newspaper by implementing, among other measures, artificial intelligence as a tool to boost commentary. In a staff meeting a year and a half ago, he issued a warning that has proven prophetic: "We're losing a lot of money. Your readership has halved in recent years. People aren't reading what you write."

The venerable newspaper has also suffered a significant image crisis since Donald Trump's return to the presidency. When Martin Baron was still at the helm, Jeff Bezos's role was essentially limited to providing financial support. However, when the veteran journalist was replaced, the Amazon owner began to intervene more directly, in what has been interpreted as an attempt to curry favor with the US president (to protect his company's businesses that depend on government contracts).

The most decisive move, which sparked a wave of protests and a mass cancellation of subscriptions, was the order he gave to the opinion team prohibiting the publication of a piece they had already prepared recommending a vote for Kamala Harris. Bezos publicly defended the decision not to endorse a candidate, as had been the tradition in recent decades. Weeks later, he also demanded that opinion pieces focus on defending personal freedoms and the free market. David Shipley, head of the section, resigned. That January, at Trump's inauguration ceremony, Bezos sat in the second row, just behind the presidential family.

In a statement reacting to the news, Baron called it "one of the darkest days in the history of one of the world's most important media outlets."