WaPo Lost Another $100M+ Last Year

The Washington Post lost more than $100 million in 2025, continuing a streak of heavy financial losses that prompted the newspaper to cut about 30% of its staff earlier this month.

The Post had already posted roughly $100 million in losses in 2024 and $77 million in 2023. 

These mounting deficits stem from years of expenses outpacing revenue, particularly after aggressive hiring in prior years.

In their first major staff meeting since the layoffs, acting CEO and Publisher Jeff D’Onofrio and Executive Editor Matt Murray addressed the newsroom on Wednesday. D’Onofrio highlighted that newsroom costs rose 16% from 2020 to 2025, while the number of stories published dropped 42% over the same period. He attributed ongoing overspending to earlier staff expansions but did not specify exact loss figures during the meeting.

Murray, who became executive editor in June 2024 after serving as Wall Street Journal editor in chief, acknowledged the "painfulness of the moment" from the cuts. He reset expectations by stating the Post no longer aims to cover every story or act as a traditional "paper of record," as that model no longer fits today's media landscape. Instead, he emphasized focusing on distinctive, urgent, must-read journalism "with every chance we have."

D’Onofrio, who assumed his interim role earlier this month following the departure of previous publisher and CEO Will Lewis, indicated a broader strategic plan is in development. He urged staff to "bear with me" as it takes time and care, adding, "We’re going to go after it hard, because we owe it to this place to do that."

The Post, long renowned for its investigative work on the Watergate scandal and the Pentagon Papers, has struggled with declining web traffic and shifts in how audiences consume news online, making a sustainable business model elusive.