The Washington Post’s sports department “could be shuttered entirely” with “massive layoffs coming” to the newspaper, according to Dylan Byers of PUCK. The “expectation is that *hundreds* will be affected” by the potential layoffs (X, 1/24). SEMAFOR’s Max Tani reported that some Post editors have “quietly been suggesting to staff across various verticals, including sports, that it may not be a bad idea to begin looking for other jobs.” One source noted that editors “would not answer questions about whether there would be a sports section after the cuts at all” (SEMAFOR, 1/25). STATUS’ Natalie Korach cited one Post staffer as indicating that as the sports team “awaits its fate, the department is in ‘a state of paralysis … until it gets some clarity from management’” (STATUS, 1/25). The N.Y. Times in 2023 disbanded its sports department, opting to rely on coverage from The Athletic.
NO SPRING TRAINING: The N.Y. Times’ Erik Wemple cited sources as saying that the Post’s sports section was “told not to book travel arrangements for its Nationals beat writers to cover spring training.” The Post has two beat writers for the Nationals, and it is “unclear how they will cover the team while not attending spring training” (X, 1/26)…