On Feb. 4, 2026, The Washington Post laid off over 300 of its roughly 800-person newsroom. The layoffs resulted in both the sports and books departments being removed, a significantly smaller metro section and cuts to international correspondents and editors, many of whom were based in the Middle East. These layoffs came after several years of failing profits, decreasing numbers of subscribers and changes to leadership that further sank the paper. 

“It’s not the same place [anymore],” said Janice Page in a March 15 interview with The Justice. Page, the former arts editor for The Post and a subject of its recent layoffs, continued, “it [The Post] still has quite talented people, wonderful people that I have worked with and [I] feel really badly that they are now left trying to do the same job or more with about half the force they had before.” 

Cuts to staff at The Post came alongside a new data-driven strategy led by the paper’s owner and founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos. Bezos bought the paper in 2013 for $250 million and initially invested in it heavily, allowing the newsroom size to double in the early period of his tenure. His role in the paper's operations became more tumultuous in the buildup to the 2024 presidential election when he killed an editorial endorsing Kamala Harris. Historically, The Post has frequently written presidential endorsements of Democratic candidates, and Bezos’ increasingly heavy-handed approach to the paper raised questions about his efforts to gain favor with President Donald Trump. Bezos’ controversial removal of the endorsement of Harris — which resulted in thousands of cancelled subscriptions to The Post — came just a few months before Amazon proceeded to buy the rights to “Melania” for $40 million. Amazon has since spent an additional $35 million on marketing for the documentary. The latest layoffs, said to be driven by consumer data related to departments making the most (or least) profit, have led to more than 60,000 additional cancelled subscriptions. 

“Real, hard decisions have to be made every day in journalism right now. That is just the nature of that, right? … But the way to get through it, in my opinion, is real vision and leadership on the business side, with such a support for the journalism that is going on and an understanding of the ways journalism happens and how it's sustained and what makes a product great,” Page said. “I’m not talking out of turn to say that that was not done at its highest levels.” 

The Post faced a series of leadership changes in the past few years, including the retirement of former executive editor Marty Baron in 2021, followed by the removal of Fred Ryan as publisher and Chief Executive Officer in 2023. Under Ryan, The Post reportedly lost $77 million in profits and was looking for a fresh set of hands to revive the paper. Will Lewis, who was an editor of Britain’s The Telegraph for three years and publisher of The Wall Street Journal for six years, took on Ryan’s position in 2024. Although initially received well by Post staff, an article in New York Magazine reported that Lewis became increasingly estranged from both staff and Bezos himself. Lewis had initially proposed a 200-person cut to journalism staff in November 2025 as part of his plan to regain profits, but it was rejected by Bezos for not being “sufficiently grounded in data.” Lewis oversaw the most recent series of layoffs in February that cut 30% of The Post’s staff but resigned that same week.

“You can operate a newsroom sensibly and honestly at any size level, but you really need to think about what your mission is, who you're serving, why you’re doing things, and honestly, … [you need] a really smart approach to the economics side of things,” said Page. Her insight into the complex relationship between running news publications as a business and supporting great journalism comes at a time when news organizations are battling to retain profits and readership alongside a growing detachment from traditional forms of media. Page also cited The New York Times as an example of a successful business model that has managed to retain profit with the creation of NYTCooking, Wirecutter and a series of online games in addition to regular subscriptions. “I don’t object to finding a way to pay your way. I just don’t think you should do it on the back of something like, say, classical music criticism.”

Page first joined The Post in 2019 after she worked at The Boston Globe, where she was the deputy managing editor for arts and newsroom innovation. After working for the Globe for over a decade, Page described that at the time of this transition, she was looking for the next step in her career. “In 2019, we were approaching another election, so I wanted to experience what that would be like, working at … a paper I had never even dreamed of working at one day. And here was my opportunity: They were looking for an arts editor. And I thought, what better place to be?” 

Initially, working for The Post was her dream. “When I went there, it absolutely lived up to everything I had expected it to,” she said, until it suffered from “a series of what [she calls] bad, misguided moves.” Another aspect of The Post that excited her was the ability to stay in the arts department. The arts — and arts journalism — have always been a passion of hers. “I think of [the] arts as a way to tell incredible stories. … To me, it is one of the many things that separates us from all other species, right?” She continued, “To be in the privileged position of shining a spotlight on people who do that and why it’s important was always important to me.” In response to The Post’s push to drive their work based on consumer data, Page said “there’s no data in the world that is going to tell you how important [arts coverage is] to a very worthwhile segment of your audience.” 

Today, news organizations must continually navigate complications — such as the increased presence of artificial intelligence, intensifying partisanship and attacks from the current administration — while catering to their consumer base and maintaining profitability. With these issues in mind, journalism “is way more important than it ever was. … We stand between complete chaos and responsible democracy,” said Page. “The thing is, journalism isn’t a profession — it’s a vocation. It truly is. It’s a spiritual, creative, intellectual vocation. And for a lot of people, you just can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Speaking about the lessons she’s learned as a journalist, Page said, “people in newsrooms anywhere tend to say things that are the way out and the … way forward.” She stressed the importance of listening to journalists and to each other, and advised aspiring journalists: “Don’t give up. We need people who are passionate about this stuff.” 

Janice Page will be joining a panel on March 24 in Rapaporte Treasure Hall at 5:30 p.m. for an event titled, “Who Owns the News?”