Picking Off The Post

In the weeks since The Washington Post largely abandoned its local coverage of its namesake city—gutting its metro team and shuttering its sports desk—a question has hovered over Washington’s media circles: Will another outlet make a serious play for the territory?

Washington is one of the country’s largest and wealthiest media markets, home to some 6 million residents across the metropolitan area. And in the aftermath of The Post’s sweeping round of layoffs that cut more than a third of the newsroom, a meaningful gap has opened in local coverage. For an operator with sufficient capital and a coherent plan, the moment presents a rare opening to establish a sustainable newsroom dedicated to serving the region’s communities.

Last month, just ahead of the layoffs at the Jeff Bezos-owned paper, a group of wealthy Washington figures quietly approached former Post publisher and chief executive Will Lewis to inquire about spinning off its local news and sports sections, as Status previously reported. Now, with large portions of The Post’s metro and sports coverage dismantled, there may be an opening for a well-funded entrant to try to rebuild that coverage from the ground up.

Indeed, some of The Post’s competitors are starting to test the waters. Status has learned that The Baltimore Banner quietly registered the domain names dcbanner.com and thedcbanner.com, after learning about layoff plans at The Post. It’s unclear what exactly The Banner intends to do with the URLs, but the move appeared to be a planting of their flag in the region. While editor-in-chief Audrey Cooper downplayed any immediate expansion into D.C. in a conversation with Status, the nonprofit newsroom has already begun taking steps to extend its footprint into the nation’s capital.

Just over a week after cuts hit The Post, Cooper announced that the Pulitzer Prize-winning upstart would be expanding its sports coverage to D.C. teams, including the Nationals and Commanders. Cooper told Status that The Banner is talking to “a ton” of former Post staffers about possible roles, and has already hired one to fill its new Washington sports beat. At the moment, The Banner is planning to hire a minimum of three reporters and an editor, according to Cooper, with possible further expansion down the line.

“Our research and internal data show strong interest in coverage of these teams, and we know that excellent sports journalism drives reader engagement and subscriber retention,” Cooper wrote in her memo announcing the expansion, in an obvious jab at The Post leadership, which claimed layoff decisions were made with respect to reader data.

And The Banner is far from the only outlet seeing an opening to increase its coverage in the DMV.

Axios, which already operates local coverage in Washington, has been eyeing the gap left behind by The Post’s diminished presence. Co-founder Jim VandeHei posted a job listing for an Axios Local D.C. reporter on X last week, writing that the intention is “filling The Washington Post void.” The Cox-owned outlet announced an expansion of its local offerings earlier this year, which Status first reported, but D.C. was not on the list at the time.

Nick Johnston, the company’s publisher, told Status that additional local reporting in the region is “100% opportunistic,” adding that The Post “pulling out of a lot of their coverage areas, and the cuts to the newsroom, serves as a big opportunity to fill that space.” Almost immediately after the layoffs, Johnston said, his phone began ringing with messages from displaced Post reporters looking to chart their next move.

“D.C. is just such a great journalism town,” Johnston said, citing the success of upstart outlets like Politico, Punchbowl News, NOTUS, and others. The demand for local coverage is there, he said, adding, “It’s not easy, but it’s certainly possible to build a great media business here.”

City Cast, the network of local podcasts and newsletters backed by Graham Holdings—the company that owned The Post for decades before selling it to Bezos in 2013—is also making an entrance in Washington after the recent gutting. Earlier this month, the company announced plans to expand in D.C. to “help fill the void The Post is leaving.”

Others across Washington circles are making similar calculations. Prominent investor Mark Ein wrote on social media that The Post had created “a massive hole in our community that needs to be filled,” adding that he was on the case, without providing specifics. Several national outlets and digital publications have begun quietly interviewing journalists affected by the cuts, though hiring processes are expected to take weeks or months to fully play out.

“It’s the best talent dump you’re going to find this decade,” one remaining Post staffer told Status, adding that it’s time for leaders across the industry to “open up those wallets.”

For Post competitors with the resources to hire, the moment represents a rare influx of experienced journalists suddenly on the market, conveniently well-versed in reporting on a city where the demand for news remains unusually strong. As journalism mourns what’s been lost at The Post, the vacuum it leaves behind may not stay empty for long.

“Who knows, opportunities present themselves,” Cooper said.

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[Data via Box Office Mojo]

The latest episode of Power Lines is out.

In this week’s episode: We go inside the extraordinary Stephen Colbert-CBS feud after the late-night king accused his network of putting out a “crap” statement that misled the public about its efforts to block an interview with a Texas Democrat. Plus, we reveal the real reason Anderson Cooper exited “60 Minutes,” look at what the data says about Fox News’ coverage of the Epstein Files, and break down Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony at the landmark social media addiction trial.

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