Michael Cavna and David Betancourt, Washington Post pop culture reporters with an expertise about comics, have accepted buyouts from the newspaper.
Michael Cavna just confirmed to me that both he and David Betancourt are taking the Post buyout offer, and there will be no specialists on comics on the staff now.
David Betancourt announced his action on X/Twitter:
Some news: I have accepted a buyout from The Washington Post. My 16 and a half years here comes to an end on Dec. 31. I’m getting a generous deal, and with it, time to focus on David Betancourt the author. It’s been an honor being your comic culture reporter. Thanks for reading.
[Cavna] Honors and Awards: National Headliner Award, writing/illustration, 2017, 2019 & 2021 ; Ink Bottle Award, Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, 2023; Eisner Award finalist, journalism, 2016, 2017, 2020 & 2021; Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi Award, audio/visual storytelling, 2018; Society for Features Journalism awards, Arts/feature coverage and commentary, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2021; Harvey Awards finalist, biography/journalism, 2012
Professional Affiliations: Society for Features Journalism, National Society of Newspaper Columnists
Same day update from Michael Cavna and Mike Rhode:
… Hannah Good is staying at the Post and will be taking over David Betancourt’s comics page editing duties. She’s been good for the WaPo’s cartoon journalism this past year, so I’m very glad she’s staying.
Here’s her Post page info…
Further reading about The Washington Post buyouts:
Back in October, the Post announced that it was offering buyouts with the hopes of reducing staff by 240. (At the time, the Post had approximately 2,500 employees.)
Then late last month, Post interim CEO Patty Stonesifer told staff only half of the desired number of staffers — about 120 or so — had accepted the buyouts and that there would be layoffs if not enough employees took the buyouts…
Then came Tuesday’s news that the Post had enough buyouts to avoid layoffs — for now (my words, not the Post’s). The exact number of buyouts isn’t known publicly…
More people than expected have volunteered to take buyouts from the Washington Post, according to an email from the Washington Post Guild, the union that represents many of the publication’s staffers. As a result, the Guild claims, managers “are attempting to bribe some colleagues to stay by offering them more money and better jobs at the eleventh hour.”
Common Dreams on another WaPo front:
After 18-Month Battle, WaPo Union Wins Tentative Deal With Bezos-Owned Paper
A mobilization by unionized Washington Post staffers that included a historic 24-hour strike helped push the newspaper to offer what the union described as “the best contract [it] has won in half a century” on Friday as it announced a tentative agreement with management.
The Washington Post Guild, which represents about 1,000 editorial, advertising, and non-newsroom workers, celebrated the breakthrough after 18 months of tumultuous negotiations, which pushed the union to hold a one-day work stoppage earlier this month.