On Wednesday, the Washington Post announced that they would be shutting down their sports desk as part of a mass layoff of one-third of their staff.
The massive cuts from an established, high-quality newspaper are a bad omen for the future of journalism and the continuation of the Bezos-led decline of a once-revered media outlet. For sports fans in the District, this is also a devastating loss. Nationals fans are losing the clearest source for high-quality coverage of the team. The team recognized this loss in an X post.
Jesse Dougherty, for instance, who was the Post’s beat reporter for the Nationals before transitioning to covering college sports, lost his job. He is just one of countless reporters who will no longer have the opportunity to bring D.C. baseball fans closer to their team.
Sports journalists are an integral part of a fan’s experience. They connect people to the players they root for and help fans understand what is happening with the team that they love. Modern sports become less meaningful without reporters to develop stories and provide greater context of a team’s accomplishments and failures.
The Nationals are also entering one of the most fascinating periods in the team’s history. The media will be integral to helping Nationals fans understand the team’s new front office and the decisions they make. Without the Washington Post sports section, fans will be further away from the construction of the next great Nationals team. There are no Washington Post reporters to tell stories from the clubhouse, discuss new prospects, and break down trades. The color and details of following the Nats will be diminished without the Washington Post.
On a personal note, I grew up looking at baseball box scores and reading articles in the Washington Post every Sunday. The section is a reason why I love baseball and why I write about the sport. Future generations will not have this same privilege.
The Washington Post says that it will still provide some sports coverage, and there are a number of outlets that provide high-quality analysis of the Nationals, like District on Deck. However, the Washington Post sports coverage was the gold standard. The paper having individuals directly reporting on the team gave fans increased access and more stories about the team and players they care about. The Washington Post sports section provided richness and color to sports fandom in D.C. The fan experience will be darker without it.