He Was Laid Off at The Washington Post After Working There 60 Years

A report from Nytimes says Martin Weil, who worked on The Washington Post’s local news desk since 1965, was among more than 300 of the roughly 800 journalists laid off as the paper announced widespread newsroom cuts.

Mr. Weil, a longtime night-shift reporter, was one of the last ties to The Post’s Watergate era after a career that began in the 1960s; early on he heard a police scanner call in 1972—“Doors open at the Watergate”—and the paper pursued the story.

Over decades he covered murders, robberies and other regional beats, developed a following for his weather essays, and said the thrill of a byline “never went away.” Colleagues recalled his routine of circulating through the newsroom before settling into work.

The article notes the metro department has contracted sharply from about 200 journalists in the early 2000s to fewer than 20 after the latest cuts, a reduction Mr. Weil saw across seven buyouts and a broader shift toward a more national news model.