As The Washington Post prepares for significant layoffs within its newsroom in the near future, several groups of its journalists have taken the unusual step of directly appealing to Jeff Bezos, the paper's owner, to reconsider plans that would substantially reduce staff. Among these appeals, a letter from the White House reporting team has come to light, revealing their unified stance against the impending cuts to various sections of the newsroom.
Matt Viser, the bureau chief for the White House team, communicated on an internal Slack channel his concerns that, if the Post’s future strategy centers primarily on political reporting, it risks undermining the essential collaboration between desks covering foreign affairs, sports, and local news. "If other sections are diminished, we all are," Viser wrote, emphasizing the integrated nature of comprehensive journalism at the Post.
In the letter formally submitted to Bezos, signed by Viser along with seven of his White House colleagues, the reporters advocate for maintaining a diversified Washington Post. The letter strategically presents data aimed at resonating with Bezos's focus on growth. It notes that, in a standard month, over half of the new subscribers brought to the Post are drawn to stories originating from a range of desks, including International and Metro. Such stories have recently included exclusive reports on U.S. military operations in Venezuela and President Donald Trump’s demolition of the East Wing of the White House.
“Our colleagues' work helps lift up our own,” the White House reporters stressed, making the case that it is not only political coverage alone but the wider newsroom’s diverse output that adds value to their journalism and the newspaper’s reach.
Attempts to reach a spokesperson for the Post regarding the upcoming layoffs were unsuccessful, with the newspaper declining to comment.
Internal signals have already suggested imminent staff reductions. For instance, an internal memo revealed that The Washington Post will no longer assign reporters to cover the upcoming Winter Olympics in February, a departure from past practice that underscores fiscal tightening. The response among the newsroom staff has been one of apprehension, with many worrying that continued cuts may erode the publication’s relevance.
The concern extends to questioning whether Bezos, who acquired the Post over a decade ago, remains committed to the outlet’s success. In response, journalists have bypassed the paper's publisher, Will Lewis, directing their messages straight to Bezos in hopes of influencing decisions at the highest level.
Journalists specializing in international reporting have already expressed similar concerns, sending a letter that highlights robust foreign coverage as "essential to the Washington Post’s brand and its future success," regardless of the form the paper may take moving forward. Simultaneously, more than two dozen reporters based in the Washington, D.C., area pleaded for the preservation of local news coverage, stressing how layoffs that would halve local staff again could inflict immeasurable damage on the region and its residents.
Contrasting with prior appeals, the White House reporters do not appear to face direct threats of job loss themselves. Instead, they respond to statements from management signaling a strategic pivot to concentrate newsroom investment on political reporting and selected core areas while scaling back others, such as sports and foreign affairs. Their argument highlights that some of the Post’s most widely read and impactful articles have depended on collaborative efforts spanning multiple newsroom corners.
Veteran reporters who have weathered several challenging years marked by multiple rounds of staff reductions, and who have declined buyouts, now find the newsroom at a critical juncture. There is growing skepticism about the leadership's dedication to the paper's long-term health.
One experienced correspondent expressed that both Bezos and Lewis have not demonstrated themselves to be "serious, good-faith stewards of The Washington Post." The correspondent cited costly management decisions affecting the Opinion section, including the cancellation of a planned editorial endorsement of Kamala Harris in late 2024, which triggered subscriber cancellations. Subsequently, the announcement of a more Trump-aligned mission for the Opinion pages early in 2025 further unsettled the readership.
The correspondent concluded that these leadership choices "drove us into a ditch," inflicting subscriber losses amounting to hundreds of thousands. This contributor and others fear that rather than the company absorbing these consequences, the reporting staff will ultimately bear the burden of these missteps.