In a matter of hours on Wednesday, Feb. 4, The Washington Post — a newspaper founded in 1877 by Stilson Hutchins, also known as the oldest and largest daily news publication in Washington D.C. — announced a series of newsroom layoffs with direct impacts to its sports, news and international sections. In this, the layoffs are rumored to lead to a gutting of its sports and photojournalist departments, totalling a firing upwards of 300 of its 800 staffers, diminishing the newsroom size by 30%.
To any outer industry observer, these numbers may not come across as shocking and rather just appear as a “normal” symptom of current job markets and dwindling economic resources. However, for a journalist, or industry adjacent professional, a decrease this large from an outlet as historically significant as The Washington Post, it is not an act that’s taken lightly, but rather an outcry for justice in an age when those need it the most.
Let’s delve a little deeper shall we. Journalism at its core, is a systematic, fundamental effort of those who feel called upon to exhume the truth, hold people in powerful positions accountable and have an urgent desire for storytelling. As the 21st century emerged and digital media forms began to take face, print media across the country began to collapse, with complications finding an affordable place to print issues and obtaining advertisers willing to pay for space. However, these are all traditional, surmised outcomes, which accompany the epoch of technology.
What has happened here with The Post, and what is happening to many media outlets across the country, both local and corporate, is not an issue of simple progression adaptation, but rather a power struggle between those working to tell the truth and those above them working harder to prevent it.
Jeffrey Bezos — an American entrepreneur and business man — purchased The Washington Post in August 2013 from its previous owners, The Graham Family — shifting the mission of the publication from investigative journalism, editorial independence and an overall objective to emboss the publication as a respected and trustworthy institution to its current operating motto, “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”
While previously, The Washington Post upheld the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics by adhering to its four core principles — Seek Truth and Report it, Minimize Harm, Act Independently, Be Accountable and Transparent — particularly during times, which required it such as the President Nixon Watergate Scandal or the publication of The Pentagon Papers in 1971, its history of accountability and transparency has not always translated into recent years under its new leadership: leaving an overall mistrust in media from audiences.
However, the fault of this does not lie in the hands of the journalists employed by outlets such as this one. It lies in those running the newsrooms, wrongfully dictating a journalist’s storytelling and ability to do their job effectively. This is what we’ve seen and what we are seeing now.
A beloved, epicenter of informative, fact-checked, imperative journalism has in recent years, lost its metaphorical gold standard due to its leadership, who instead of believing in truth and accountability, believe in answering to a presidential administration who would rather cover it all up. And this now has resulted in a firing of 300 journalists from one publication, with a list of unoriginal excuses pertaining to the fact that the industry is “failing” and the beats are no longer needed. When in reality, what is needed is people in charge of newsrooms who believe in reporters acting independently from governed institutions, who are driven to publish only what they believe in their hearts to be true.
This dismantling of the industry is an epidemic and is not something that should be taken lightly. Journalists cannot be fired for doing their jobs. They cannot be arrested and put behind bars for telling the truth. There is a long history of negligence that has come before us that reporters have covered freely and a Journalist’s U.S. Constitutional First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press must be respected for years to come. Not toyed with, leaving journalists and reporters such as myself and fellow colleagues living in fear for the future of the industry and for job security, when they complete their jobs by the book, as they were taught in journalism school by professors and accomplished reporters who came before them.
Julia Williams — a Kansas City native — is a reporter and digital producer for The Labor Beacon. A University of Missouri School of Journalism alumna, she previously served as the editor-in-chief of The Northeast News before joining The Labor Beacon staff.
Williams’s grandfather was a Claycomo Ford Motor Company retiree and avid UAW Local 249 supporter, allowing her to understand the union difference from a young age.
In her free time, Williams enjoys spending time with her family, traveling to see her friends and hanging out at home with her cat, Greta. She loves a good cup of coffee, seeing local, live music and shopping secondhand. With a passion for storytelling, she hopes to bring her knowledge of journalistic integrity to the Kansas City union community — giving union and labor workers a voice, while holding people in powerful positions accountable.
