On Wednesday, the Washington Post, "at the behest of owner Jeff Bezos," cut a third of its workforce with layoffs affecting "every corner of the newsroom," including the Books section. NPR reported that "with the job cuts, the storied newspaper narrows the scope of its ambitions for the foreseeable future. It is a remarkable reversal for a vital pillar of American journalism that had looked to Bezos--one of the wealthiest people on Earth--as a champion and a financial savior."
Calling the move "a strategic reset," executive editor Matt Murray said the Post will shutter its sports desk, while keeping some sports reporters to write feature stories. It will also close its Books section and suspend the podcast Post Reports. The international desk will shrink dramatically.
The Associated Press noted that the Book World, "a destination for book reviews, literary news and author interviews, has been a dedicated section in its Sunday paper."
The Post Guild, which represents staffers, is planning a rally today outside the paper's headquarters. "These layoffs are not inevitable. A newsroom cannot be hollowed out without consequences for its credibility, its reach and its future," the union said. "If Jeff Bezos is no longer willing to invest in the mission that has defined this paper for generations and serve the millions who depend on Post journalism, the the Post deserves a steward that will."
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| Ron Charles at the Miami Book Fair in 2018. | |
The layoffs included Ron Charles, the highly respected longtime book critic for the Post. On his Substack, in a piece headlined "I've Been Laid Off. I'm Not Done," he wrote: "After 20 years at the Washington Post, I’m suddenly on my own--and still writing about books.... Wednesday morning, I learned that my services as a book critic at the Washington Post were no longer needed. My job, along with many others, was eliminated in the paper's latest effort to reinvent itself. How a major national newspaper will carry on without someone on staff to summarize the plots of midlist literary novels is beyond me. But I'll leave that challenge to the august managers who must now carry the Post forward."
Noting that in recent years, "there were plenty of warning signs at the Post that trouble was brewing--departing colleagues, shrinking sections, four horsemen in the heavens--but I vainly imagined I might hang on a few more years.... For book critics, getting laid off is practically a rite of passage--usually the last rite of the final passage.
"Ironically, I received my layoff notice from Human Resources while I was eating one of the two remaining Harry & David pears that the Post sent to celebrate my 20th anniversary at the paper.... In any case, I'm not rich enough or tired enough to retire quite yet. So long as I can flip pages--and publishers send me galleys--I intend to keep nattering on about books, authors and our imperiled literary culture. If you'd like to read along, please subscribe here--my new home."