The Washington Post will "redirect a good chunk of its sports staff toward coronavirus coverage," according to Andrew Beaujon of the WASHINGTONIAN. Sports Editor Matt Vita and Deputy Sports Editor Matt Rennie in a memo wrote, "It is going to be impossible to fill even a 6-page daily Sports section for a while." The Sports section in print "will move inside the Style section and probably take up 2-3 pages there beginning Saturday," and it "will run as a standalone section on Sundays." Some editors "will help the Post's 24/7 live coronavirus coverage, as will Nationals reporter Jesse Dougherty, Capitals reporter Samantha Pell, soccer reporter Steven Goff, and Wizards/NBA reporter Candace Buckner." Some journalists will join other desks. Vita and Rennie said that these moves "are all temporary" (WASHINGTONIAN, 3/18).
OTHER NEWSPAPERS ADJUSTING: In Denver, Will Petersen reported the Denver Post "will be suspending its regular sports section 'until things start returning to normal.'" Editor Lee Ann Colacioppo in a statement wrote that the current sports staff "will now be free to help the newspaper focus on covering the impact of coronavirus" in Colorado. The Post on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday will produce a "smaller than normal" sports section, while sports news the remainder of the week "will be found in the main section" (9NEWS.com, 3/18). Meanwhile, the Dallas Morning News' sports section beginning tomorrow "temporarily will appear inside the A section." With virtually all sports events canceled, the sports staff "will cover local teams as they adjust to a new reality and prepare to play games at some point in the future" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 3/19).
CUTS AT TAMPA BAY TIMES: In Tampa, Ashley Gurbal Kritzer noted the Tampa Bay Times is "cutting jobs from the newsroom in the midst of nonstop coverage of Florida's coronavirus outbreak." The layoffs were "widely anticipated after the Times informed its staff of a 10 percent pay cut in late February and said job cuts were also likely to follow in the coming weeks." Sports Editor Mike Sherman, writer Rodney Page and digital producer Daniel Figueroa IV "announced their layoffs on social media" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/18).
