The Washington Post is implementing sweeping newsroom layoffs that have gutted its foreign desk, including the elimination of its entire Middle East team, as part of cuts affecting a reported 30% of the newspaper's workforce. 

What happened: The Post is shuttering its sports desk, closing its books section and letting go of all of its staff photographers. The international desk will also shrink dramatically, including the elimination of the outlet's Middle East team. 

In an email sent to Post employees following a live stream during which the reductions were announced, Executive Editor Matt Murray framed the cuts as part of a broader effort to overhaul the newspaper’s direction and output. He said that some aspects of the Post’s journalism, including its use of video, “haven’t kept up,” adding that “the need has never been more urgent to reposition the Post.” He also acknowledged a decline in the paper’s production and reach, adding that the outlet appears to write "from one perspective, for one slice of the audience.” 

A slew of journalists covering the region have said they were laid off, including Cairo Bureau Chief Claire Parker, Jerusalem Bureau Chief Gerry Shih and correspondents Yeganeh Torbati, Louisa Loveluck, Nilo Tabrizy, Loveday Morris, Shira Rubin and Miriam Berger, among others, according to their social media posts. 

Laid off from the Washington Post, along with........

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