The Washington Post could shut down its entire sports section after management informed staffers that it was abruptly scrapping its planned coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics two weeks before the opening ceremony.
The decision by the Jeff Bezos-owned publication to cancel coverage of the Winter Games coincides with a report from Puck News journalist Dylan Byers, who tweeted on Saturday that “massive layoffs” at the paper were imminent.
According to Byers, there is increased chatter that the Washington Post’s “sports desk could be shuttered entirely” and that its “foreign desk will be hit hard too.”
A Washington Post spokesperson was not immediately available to comment.
Washington Post managing editor Kimi Yoshino informed more than a dozen journalists on Friday that the paper would not send reporters to the Milano Cortina Games, despite months of planning and substantial spending already approved by management.
“As we assess our priorities for 2026, we have decided not to send a contingent to the Winter Olympics,” Yoshino wrote in an internal email reviewed by The New York Times.
“We realize this decision and its timing will be disappointing to many of you, so please reach out to me if you want to talk further.”
The move blindsided staffers as many reporters had already paid for flights, housing and work space, people familiar with the matter told the Times.
Housing costs alone totaled at least $80,000, with the vast majority of Olympic-related expenses already spent, the Times reported.
The Washington Post had secured 14 credentials for the Games and typically sends between 10 and 20 newsroom employees to cover the Olympics.
Just two years ago, it dispatched 26 journalists to the Paris Summer Games — its largest Olympic deployment on record, a Washington Post employee told the Times.
Instead, the paper pulled the plug days before travel was set to begin.
The possible closure of the Washington Post’s sports section would mark a significant step for a newspaper that for decades produced some of the most influential names in American sports journalism.
Over the years, the publication has boasted an impressive roster of big-name writers including Shirley Povich, Thomas Boswell, Tony Kornheiser, Michael Wilbon, Christine Brennan, John Feinstein and Sally Jenkins.
Washington Post management has instituted layoffs and job cuts as the industry has seen radical change brought on by audience fragmentation and the rapid rise of new technologies.
According to the Washington Post Guild, at least 60 journalists accepted buyouts in 2025 alone — part of a broader exodus that included prominent columnists and veteran reporters across multiple desks.
The upheaval is rooted in long-running financial strain.
When Will Lewis took over as publisher and CEO in late 2023, the paper was already bleeding cash — a reality he acknowledged publicly in 2024 after disclosing a $77 million loss the prior year.
In 2024, the losses worsened significantly — with the Washington Post estimated to have been $100 million in the red for the year.
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