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NEW YORK – After a brutal twelvemonth of headlines astir The Washington Post, enforcement exertion Matt Murray sounded astir relieved to beryllium talking astir journalism.
In an interview, helium was touting “100 scoops successful 100 days” astir the Post's sum of the Trump administration's archetypal weeks. What sounds similar a publicist's confection has information down it, with reporters putting their heads down and working, notably connected stories involving the national workforce and spending cuts.
Most stories astir the Post successful the past fewer months person been negative, including steadfast Will Lewis' botched reorganization that led to erstwhile enforcement exertion Sally Buzbee's resignation past June, proprietor Jeff Bezos asserting himself implicit the sentiment conception and defections among journalists disquieted astir the outlet's direction.
“Great stories and large scoops are ever bully to punctual radical — some externally and internally — that it's each astir the journalism astatine the extremity of the day,” Murray said.
The grunt enactment of reporting connected the national workforce
Dan Diamond, Hannah Natanson, Carolyn Y. Johnson and Lena H. Sun are among the reporters who person dug into specifics astir Department of Government Efficiency-inspired cuts and what they've meant for aesculapian probe and services for Social Security recipients. Natanson, Rachel Siegel and Laura Meckler person explored the usage of authorities information to spell aft undocumented immigrants.
Adam Taylor and John Hudson person dug into projected cuts astatine the State Department. Maria Sacchetti and Artur Galocha showed however fractional of the radical the White House reported arsenic migration enforcement arrests were already down bars. Jacob Bogage wrote astir a Trump appointee asking the IRS to reappraisal an audit of blimpish property Mike Lindell.
It's grunt work, processing sources and stories that physique upon different stories, galore involving national workers — the manufacture that the metropolis is built upon.
“The Post has an historical work — it's close successful our name, Washington — to constitute aggressively, truthfully, thoughtfully astir the authorities and what's happening there,” Murray said. “Obviously the Trump administration, immoderate 1 thinks of them, has the astir assertive alteration programme that we've seen successful galore administrations.”
The enactment breaking stories has been noticeable, said Margaret Sullivan, a erstwhile media columnist astatine the Post who inactive writes, teaches astatine Columbia University and runs the Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security there.
“I've been blessed to spot that,” she said. “The spot has been done specified a hard clip and it's not owed to the journalists there. It's due to the fact that of the ownership and management.”
The Post hasn't yet earned its ain Truth Social station astir its reporting since President Donald Trump's instrumentality — the eventual motion it has gotten nether Trump's tegument — but the White House labeled 1 of its stories astir wellness backing “fake news.” Tulsi Gabbard, nationalist quality director, cited a Post communicative astir Israel and Iran among her reasons to question retired interior leakers.
The enactment has besides calmed fears astir whether proprietor Bezos' newfound friendliness with Trump would interaction quality coverage. Last fall, Bezos ordered a planned endorsement of Trump hostile Kamala Harris spiked, triggering an exodus of aggravated subscribers. He was a prominently disposable impermanent astatine Trump's 2nd inauguration and soon aft said the Post's sentiment pages should focus primarily connected idiosyncratic liberties and the escaped market.
That alteration successful absorption led to the resignations of editorial leafage exertion David Shipley and 2 long-time Post columnists, Ruth Marcus and Eugene Robinson.
Bezos' actions with the sentiment conception person wounded the Post's estimation erstwhile the state truly needs it, and erstwhile its quality sum has been excellent, said Robert McCartney, a retired Post columnist. “Their DOGE sum has been truly good, arsenic bully arsenic anybody's,” helium said. “They person breached a batch of news. They person done a batch of important accountability reporting.”
Journalists are taking vantage of caller opportunities
Between the turmoil and a oversea of reddish ink resulting successful layoffs, the Post suffered a important endowment defection astatine the extremity of past year. Journalists similar Matea Gold, the respected managing editor, and reporters Josh Dawsey, Ashley Parker, Philip Rucker and Michael Scherer took caller jobs. That exposed immoderate bladed skin; Murray, past lone interim editor, concisely banned goodbye emails believing they were atrocious for morale, earlier the determination was reversed, the Guardian reported. The insubstantial has banned its media writers from reporting stories astir the newspaper.
“The reporters are doing bully work, by and large,” said Richard Prince, a retired newsman and exertion who spent 20 years astatine the Post successful 2 stints. “It's a shame determination is each this turmoil that is coming from the top. It seems similar they mislaid much endowment than they gained.”
At a clip determination are much journalists than jobs, the Post is inactive a desired destination. “Many different radical are stepping up and person had caller opportunities and are showing their chops,” said Murray, who had the “interim” removed from his rubric with nary fanfare earlier this year.
The Post is inactive successful transition; Murray appointed immoderate cardinal deputies past week. It is inactive sorting retired sum areas that request much attraction and those that don't. He promised much resources to travel technology, artificial quality and the markets.
The Post reportedly mislaid immoderate 325,000 subscribers aft the Harris non-endorsement and editorial argumentation change; the paper won't accidental whether it has recovered that fig since done caller oregon returned subscribers. The paper is much aggressively seeking caller readers and says 100,000 much caller subscribers signed up this twelvemonth than did implicit the aforesaid play successful 2024.
It's spring; see them each shoots popping up from the crushed aft a damaging winter.
“I would not discontinue the Post,” Sullivan said. “If I were a regular reader, I would inactive find it precise absorbing and necessary.”
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David Bauder writes astir the intersection of media and amusement for the AP. Follow him astatine http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social
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