Competitors snap up WaPo talent
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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
ESPN announced on Monday it hired six journalists from the Washington Post, roughly two weeks after The Athletic said it too had hired a slew of sports reporters from the storied paper after the Post laid of hundreds of staffers.
Why it matters: Once considered one of the top newsrooms in the country for journalism talent, the Post has now ceded its dominance in certain areas, like sports, to competitors looking to take advantage of its losses.
Zoom in: ESPN has hired Kent Babb, Kareem Copeland, Chuck Culpepper, Roberto Klemko, Tom Schad and Ben Strauss, who were all previously journalists at the Post.
- They will join ESPN's newsgathering, investigative and enterprise teams over the coming weeks, ESPN said its announcement.
- "Adding these six outstanding journalists and the reputation of The Washington Post will enhance an ESPN team that is already the best in the business," ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement.
- The new adds will "collectively bringing more than 100 years of industry experience and recipients of numerous major industry awards," per ESPN.
Zoom out: Other new outlets, including Axios, are expanding their D.C. coverage. City Cast CEO David Plotz told Nieman Lab he estimated that six months to a year ago, "the Post was the 'Mother Earth' for 75% of local stories."
- City Cast plans to hire at least four reporters to expand in D.C., Plotz told Nieman Lab. It already hired Emma Uber, a laid-off Post reporter.
- The Banner, previously known as The Baltimore Banner, announced it is "accelerating" its expansion to Prince George's County and adding sports coverage of Washington teams.
What to watch: Some newsrooms are using the Post's downsizing to market their products and build bigger audiences.
- The 51st, a D.C.-focused digital news startup, posted on X that it's added hundreds of new members since the Post announced sweeping layoffs.
