The Washington Post has announced a “major reorganization” of the organization that includes closing its current sports department and scaling back its international reportage operations. According to Fox News, about a third of the organization’s employees were affected, close to 300 people.Ishaan Tharoor, the Washington Post’s foreign affairs columnist and son of Congressman Shashi Tharoor, is among the journalists fired as part of a major reorganization at the US newspaper, which has drastically reduced international coverage.Tharoor said he was “heartbroken” after being fired and shared the news in a post on X on Wednesday. “Today I was fired from The Washington Post along with most of our international staff and many other great colleagues,” he wrote.“My heart breaks for our newsroom, especially the unparalleled reporters — editors and reporters — who serve The Washington Post around the world and have been my friends and collaborators for nearly 12 years. It has been an honor to work with them,” Tharoor added.In another post, Tharoor described the day as a “bad day” and shared a photo of an empty newsroom. He also recalled the launch of the WorldView column in 2017, saying he was honored to help readers understand global affairs and thanked the column’s approximately 500,000 subscribers.Several senior journalists and foreign correspondents confirmed their exit on social media. Will Hobson, an investigative journalist who focuses on sports, said on X: “Some personal news: I’m part of today’s layoffs at The Washington Post. It’s been a dream 11 years as an investigative journalist focusing on sports. “Gerry Shih, The Washington Post’s Jerusalem bureau chief, said he was laid off along with much of the Middle East team and international staff in various regions. “I traveled from Delhi to Beijing to Kiev and Latin America with the rest of the ME team and most of my teammates,” he wrote, calling it a “sad day.”Cairo bureau chief Claire Parker said all Middle Eastern reporters and editors were affected. “It’s hard to understand the logic. But I’m grateful for my wonderful colleagues,” she wrote.Other affected journalists include visual forensics staffer Nilo Tabrizy, Ukrainian journalist Lizzie Johnson and Berlin bureau chief Aaron Wiener, who said the Post has decided to close its Berlin bureau. Johnson said she was “fired from The Washington Post in a war zone.”Ethnic culture writer Jada Yuan and Ethnic politics reporter Brianna Tucker also spoke publicly about the layoffs, emphasizing the personal and professional toll. “Thinking of my colleagues in the foreign service living in war zones,” Yuan wrote.Former executive editor Marty Barron called the developments one of the most disturbing in the paper’s history. “The Wrap” quoted Barron as saying: “This is one of the darkest days in history for one of the greatest news organizations in the world.”The report also said that the cuts include closing the books section, canceling the Post Report podcast, and further reducing metro and international coverage.The Washington Post is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The Washington Post Association, which represents employees, issued a statement urging Bezos to continue investing in the paper’s journalistic mission. “Without The Washington Post staff, there would be no Washington Post,” the union said.(Based on input from each agency)
