A Letter to The Washington Post — and to Those Who Still Believe in the Power of Words

In solidarity with the journalists who built The Washington Post — and whose legacy continues within our own team at The American Table

This morning’s news of The Washington Post laying off nearly a third of its staff hit me harder than I expected. Thirty percent. Behind that number are journalists — people who have dedicated their lives to telling stories that matter, often for modest pay and relentless deadlines. People who believed their words could shift public conscience, or at least illuminate one corner of truth in a complicated world.

Like so many others, The Washington Post shaped the way I understood Washington itself. When I arrived in this city years ago, it was The Post that helped define its rhythm — the tension between power and principle, politics and people. The Sunday edition was a ritual. It didn’t pander or shout; it made you think. You could feel the integrity in its reporting, and the courage in its choice of what to print, no matter who it might unsettle.

I can’t help but wonder what happens to a democracy when institutions like The Post are forced to contract. Who tells the stories that still need to be told when newsroom lights go dark? We’ve reached a moment where economic models have overtaken editorial missions, where the quiet diligence of journalism struggles to survive the noise of content.

To the journalists packing up their desks tonight: your work has mattered. It still does. You’ve been the chroniclers of our history and the keepers of our collective accountability. The Post’s legacy isn’t diminished by this moment — it’s made even more vital.

And to the leadership in media — and I say this with deep respect — let’s remember that journalism isn’t just a business model. It’s a public trust. It’s the mirror in which a free society sees itself clearly, even when it doesn’t like the reflection.

There is still time to protect that mission. But only if we choose, collectively, to value truth over traffic and craft over clicks.

— James Bell