Bezos' actions with the opinion section have hurt the Post's reputation when its news coverage has been excellent, said Robert McCartney, a retired Post columnist. "Their DOGE coverage has been really good, as good as anybody's," he said. "They have broken a lot of news. They have done a lot of important accountability reporting."
Between the turmoil and a sea of red ink resulting in layoffs, the Post suffered a significant talent defection at the end of last year. Journalists like Matea Gold, the respected managing editor, and reporters Josh Dawsey, Ashley Parker, Philip Rucker, and Michael Scherer took new jobs. That exposed some thin skin; Murray, then only interim editor, briefly banned goodbye emails believing they were bad for morale, before the decision was reversed, the Guardian reported. The paper has banned its media writers from reporting stories about the newspaper.