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Bezos guts one-third of WaPo

Despite his unfathomably deep pockets, Jeff Bezos values profitability more than he values the people at The Washington Post. 

That's one potential takeaway as the Post conducts steep layoffs today, delivering a severe blow to the Bezos-owned institution. We're still piecing the details together, and updating this CNN.com story with more info as we get it, but one in three staffers across the company are being "impacted," which is PR-speak for laid off.

The cuts came at the "behest" of Bezos, NPR's David Folkenflik wrote just now. "With the job cuts, the storied newspaper narrows the scope of its ambitions for the foreseeable future. It is a remarkable reversal for a vital pillar of American journalism that had looked to Bezos — one of the wealthiest people on Earth — as a champion and a financial savior."

"We're witnessing a murder," Post alum Ashley Parker, now at The Atlantic, wrote this morning.

Parker: "The least cynical explanation is that Bezos simply isn't paying attention."

Or maybe, "as many of us who deeply love the Post fear, the decimation is the plan."

Former Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler, of "four Pinocchios" fame, voiced that fear in a column earlier this week. "Bezos is not trying to save The Washington Post," Kessler wrote. "He's trying to survive Donald Trump." Trimming the Post's sails "sends a message to an audience of one," he added.

How it went down...

On a Zoom call at 8:30am, editor Matt Murray said the cuts include "restructuring" the Metro desk, shutting down almost the entire Sports section, shuttering the Books section, cancelling the daily "Post Reports" podcast, and "shrinking" the paper's presence around the world.

Then, at 9 a.m., staffers received emails indicating whether they'd be laid off. "I'm out, along with just a ton of the best in the biz. Horrible," the Post's Amazon beat reporter Caroline O'Donovan wrote on X. Too many other Post reporters took to social media to reveal the same.

"I'm among the hundreds of people laid off by The Post," Emmanuel Felton wrote. "This comes six months after hearing in a national meeting that race coverage drives subscriptions. This wasn't a financial decision, it was an ideological one."

Bezos and his handpicked publisher, Will Lewis, have yet to comment.

Case study in 'near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction'

☝🏻 That's what former Washington Post editor Marty Baron says this is. Yes, he says, the Post has "acute business problems." But those challenges "were made infinitely worse by ill-conceived decisions that came from the very top."

Loyal subscribers "were driven away, by the hundreds of thousands," Baron wrote in a statement this morning, citing the axed endorsement, "Bezos's sickening efforts to curry favor" with Trump, and other factors. 

Baron doesn't seem to recognize Bezos anymore. When Baron ran the newsroom, he recalled, Bezos "often declared that The Post’s success would be among the proudest achievements of his life. I wish I detected the same spirit today. There is no sign of it." I posted Baron's full statement on X.

A 'heartbreaking development'

Murray sent a memo to employees just now saying what you'd expect: "We have concluded that the company's structure is too rooted in a different era, when we were a dominant, local print product. This restructure will help to secure our future in service of our journalistic mission and provide us stability moving forward." You can read the rest here.

Notably, "there's absolutely no ownership of the management decisions that played a major role here," a Post reporter pointed out to me.

Fair. And/but this is not happening in a vacuum. The long, slow slaughter of US newspapers has been underway for decades. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution just announced layoffs last night.) "In a way, what has happened to the rest of America is now happening to the big urban centers," a friend texted me.

The Post's failings look even worse when compared with The New York Times' successes. "The NYT is putting places out of business," another observer texted. "They're getting so big and using their brand well, that they're selling subscriptions and cover the hell out of all the places, so it's harder for places like the Post to sell."

We'll certainly have a lot more to say about these cuts tomorrow, once everyone has had a chance to process the news. But as Wolf Blitzer said on CNN just now, "it's a heartbreaking development."

A 'race against time' in Nancy Guthrie case

Beware of what you may read on social media right now. This morning, local law enforcement reiterated that no suspects have been identified in the case of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance. "While we appreciate the public's concern, the sharing of unverified accusations or false information is irresponsible and does not assist the investigation," the Pima County sheriff's department said.

It is a "race against time," as the "Today" show put it this morning, as the search for Savannah Guthrie's mom enters a fourth day. Waking up this morning, "I know that we were all hoping that we would have more information," NBC correspondent Liz Kreutz said from Tucson. 

 >> A source close to the family emphasized last night that whoever has her "could drop her off at any fire station, hospital, grocery store," etc., and "there would be no questions asked."

 >> Here's my report from "Erin Burnett Outfront" about how Nancy is like an extended member of the "Today" show family.

COMING UP TODAY...

Trump sits down for Super Bowl Sunday interview 

Trump will tape an interview with NBC's Tom Llamas today, and a portion will air on "Nightly News" tonight. A separate segment will be saved for the Super Bowl Sunday pregame show on NBC.

It's notable because Trump has attacked NBC too many times to count and has nicknamed Comcast "Concast." And the last time NBC televised the Super Bowl when Trump was president, in 2018, he passed on a chance to be on the pre-game show. But this time around, he evidently wants the air time/attention.

Here's my full story with all the context about this pregame show "tradition."

...and authorizes funds for Voice of America

Yes, the same Voice of America he has been trying to dismantle. The government funding package he signed into law yesterday allocated $643 million to the US Agency for Global Media, the entity that funds VOA, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and other organizations. That sum includes $199.5 million earmarked specifically for the VOA.

 >> "This is of course fantastic news, though much is still unknown," VOA's Patsy Widakuswara wrote on X, noting that her legal case against the administration's shutdown attempt is continuing.

 >> Recall what Kari Lake tweeted in December: "We DO NOT want the excessive funding and neither does President Trump. If they appropriate it, the law says we must spend it. This is so sick!"

All the president's insults

It's time to update the "All the Times Trump Attacked Female Reporters" list. Yesterday, he raged as CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked him what he would say to Jeffrey Epstein survivors who feel they haven't gotten justice yet.

"You are so bad. You are the worst reporter. No wonder CNN has no ratings, because of people like you," Trump responded, cutting her off. "You know, she's a young woman... I don't think I've ever seen a smile on your face."

Undeterred, Collins pressed on: "Well, I'm asking you about survivors of Epstein, Mr. President." But Trump interrupted again and berated her, saying, "They should be ashamed of you."

CNN is not. "Kaitlan Collins is an exceptional journalist, reporting every day from the White House and the field with real depth and tenacity," the network said in a statement. "She skillfully brings that reporting to the anchor chair and CNN platforms every day, which audiences around the world know they can trust."

 >> Filmmaker Paul Feig wrote on X, "An old man telling a young woman to smile more. Yeah, sounds like old school sexist bullshit to me."

Notice what didn't happen next

Andrew Kirell writes: Beyond the sexist insults, what stands out to me about this incident is how, in a previous era, the other reporters in that room would have likely jumped in, picking up the baton, asking the same question and defending Collins, a well-respected colleague. But remember: Trump's White House seized control of the press pool rotation, sidelining some reporters and adding MAGA sycophants to the mix. So there was no follow-up or backup — and that's by design.

About that Netflix hearing...

During yesterday's antitrust hearing, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and WBD's Bruce Campbell faced skeptical lawmakers and tried to assuage anxieties over the pending Netflix-Warner deal.

But what really stood out, Liam Reilly and I wrote, was the vexing GOP questioning about "left-wing" Netflix allegedly pushing "woke" content and trans ideology. The talking points echoed an anti-Netflix report that recently circulated among conservatives — and created a number of what are they talking about? moments.

Why, Sen. Josh Hawley asked ominously, does "so much of Netflix content for children" promote "a transgender ideology?" That's definitely news to the streamer. You can read our full piece here...

CNN came up, too

As Rich Greenfield tweeted, someone may have to tell Ted Cruz that CNN is, uh, not on the table in the merger. The Texas senator repeatedly used his time to target the network, claiming it's a "dumpster fire" airing "nothing resembling journalism." Cruz must have a different definition of journalism than I do. Anyway, Bruce Campbell reminded Cruz that CNN is "not part of this transaction."

In response to a Q from Amy Klobuchar, Campbell said CNN will be a "centerpiece" of the separate company to be called Discovery Global: "CNN is one of our most popular cable channels. It's important for advertising, it's important for distribution, and certainly it's important for consumers and their access to independent news."

What's on Josh D'Amaro's agenda 

"Global growth, more magic, less drama." That's the mandate for incoming Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro, distilled to six simple words, by NBC's Allie Canal.

CNN's Allison Morrow outlined "five problems" that are awaiting D'Amaro. One of the biggies: "AI and the attention economy."

AI is "something that we're embracing," D'Amaro told ABC's David Muir last night. "You're seeing it's supercharged these creatives in amazing ways. This is when the Walt Disney Company thrives, when technology intersects with brilliant people and creativity, and we're in that moment right now."

D’Amaro will encounter "plenty of skepticism on Wall Street," the FT's team wrote, as "some investors are uneasy about D'Amaro's lack of experience in the media or entertainment side of Disney’s business." But Dana Walden remains in place, in an expanded role, though the stories about "glass ceiling" remaining "intact" must have stung.

 >> After yesterday's announcement, former CEO Michael Eisner tweeted some advice to D'Amaro: "Continue Bob Iger's strategy that creativity will handle profits, always protect the brand, and keep close the words of Walt Disney: 'We love to entertain kings and queens, but the vital thing to remember is this—every guest receives the VIP treatment.'"

Briefly…

 >> The NYT Co. reported quarterly results this morning: The company "added 1.4 million digital-only subscribers in 2025, including about 450,000 in the last quarter of the year," Katie Robertson reports. (NYT)

 >> Fox Corp's quarterlies "increased to $5.18 billion, surpassing Wall Street expectations of $5.06 billion." (WSJ)

 >> Peter Attia, the newly minted CBS contributor under fire for his 2016 Epstein emails, "has vanished from a list of advisors for a sleep technology company." (BI)

 >> New York Public Radio named Christy Tanner its next CEO. (NYT)

Nintendo dips on memory shortage

"Nintendo shares plunged more than 10% on Wednesday, a day after the gaming giant missed market estimates for quarterly revenue and as it faces headwinds from an unprecedented memory shortage," CNBC's Dylan Butts reports. "The company beat profit estimates though, clocking a 24% jump year on year, bolstered by sales of its Nintendo Switch." And the company "maintained its full-year Switch 2 sales forecast on Tuesday." Here's more on the "memory shortage..."

Last but not least...

"Sunday’s telecast of the 68th Grammys averaged 14.41 million viewers," down "a little more than 6% from the 15.4 million who watched the 2025 show," THR reports.

This edition of Reliable Sources was edited by Andrew Kirell and produced with Liam Reilly. Email us your feedback and tips here.