Sarah Ellison

The Trump administration is dropping a rule aimed at stopping commercial space companies like SpaceX from abandoning rocket bodies in orbit. Experts say the practice threatens public safety and telecommunications. propublica.org/article/faa-tr…

From Ezra Klein, more true than ever. You would not believe how many shortcuts everyone else is taking. In many areas, you can get way ahead of everyone just by doing the work. More true than ever now, when more people are shirking and AI lets you do 10x if you try. 1/

Sorry. Phone died. What did I miss? In the meantime, I wrote a book

The New York Times is incredibly lucky to have Yeganeh.

A new report from @pressfreedom finds that nearly all Palestinian journalists imprisoned by Israel were subject to abuse, sometimes including torture, rape and starvation. cpj.org/special-report… I'd just add that the Biden and Trump administrations were both complicit.

They’re lucky to be getting such incredible journalists.

This is one of my last articles for The Washington Post. The incredible photography is by @vanhoutenphoto, who was also laid off. No full-time staff who were in Kyiv on Feb. 24, 2022 for The Post are still with the paper. washingtonpost.com/world/2026/02/…

The New York Times made news the loss leader for a $2 billion digital revenue machine, and this chart is the receipt. News-only subscribers dropped 65% since June 2022. Bundle subscribers grew 227%. That looks like a news collapse. But the NYT deliberately killed its standalone news product. They stopped marketing it. They made it nearly impossible to buy a news-only subscription on their website. They priced the full bundle (News + Games + Cooking + Athletic + Wirecutter) at $2/month introductory, cheaper than a standalone Games subscription. News-only ARPU is $13.33. Bundle ARPU is $12.92. Single non-news product ARPU is $3.36. Those 4.3 million single-product subscribers paying $3.36/month? They’re not the business. They’re the funnel. The NYT CEO said it explicitly on the earnings call: single products are “funnels to get people to subscribe” to the bundle. Games now accounts for over 50% of time spent inside the NYT app. Wordle, Connections, and the Mini pull 10+ million weekly players who never intended to read a news article. But half of all NYT subscribers now pay for the bundle, and bundle subscribers retain longer, engage more, and accept price increases. The bundle just went from $25 to $30/month. The result: digital revenue crossed $2 billion for the first time in 2025. Free cash flow hit $550 million. Adjusted operating margins reached 24% in Q4. Berkshire Hathaway just took a billion-dollar position. While the Washington Post cut 300 journalists last week, the Times added 1.4 million subscribers. This chart shows a news company that built an attention ecosystem where Wordle gets you in the door, Cooking keeps you at breakfast, The Athletic owns your commute, and by the time you think about canceling, you’d lose four products instead of one. The NYT figured out that the way to fund journalism in 2026 is to make sure you can’t quit the crossword.

One of the great mysteries of Epstein remains his relationship with Wexner, who has never sufficiently provided an explanation for essentially gifting Epstein his NYC mansion and handing over power of attorney to him, an extraordinarily rare thing for a billionaire.

A 12-year-old emailed to say how much he loved Post Reports. “I listen to it on the bus ride to school, while playing golf, while I'm studying, and when I am bored. Some days, when I have time, I listen to it as soon as it drops.”

our story on Will Lewis exit from the Washington Post and how he lost support from the top. “Bezos lost patience after the Super Bowl thing” @grimes_ce @DanielThomasLDN ft.com/content/5fa62c…

Top comment: "I hope everyone at WaPo who worked on this incredible story was spared..." Paul jumps into the comments...

Days after cutting a third of the Washington Post newsroom, Publisher Will Lewis announces he is stepping down

@yvonnewingett ❤️ Yvonne you’re a unicorn of a journalist, and a friend. I absolutely adored our time working together and hope we can do it again sometime.

The best part about working at the Post: the people. @sarahellison is tough and compassionate and her deep knowledge of media, influencers, conspiracies, and the information wars always elevated the democracy team’s coverage. She is a powerhouse journalist and any newsroom would be lucky to get her.

@MaeveReston Maeve you’re an absolute pro. To be laid off alongside you gives me some comfort. I’ll choose your company anytime all the time. ❤️

Today’s layoffs at The Washington Post are devastating. I’m stunned by how many incredibly talented storytellers were laid off at a moment when holding power to account around the world has never been more important. I’m embracing the Stoics — trying to lean into this fate — and feeling tremendous gratitude for more than two decades of adventures covering politics, including these last few years at my beloved hometown paper. And to all of YOU, thank you for reading. It matters. 🫶💙

Patrick is one of the hardest working reporters I've ever met. A scoop machine and respected by folks on all sides. He's also a wonderful co-worker and friend. Make this the easiest decision you make and hire him while he's available.

@ElaheIzadi You’ll always be my work wife, @ElaheIzadi. Couldn’t have gotten through the pandemic (and much more) without you. ❤️

@sarahellison I can’t wait to see what Sarah does next, and I’m so sad The Post will be missing out on it.

Sarah is an incredible reporter and writer, and even a better person, there for me during some of the worst days of my life. My work wife on the media beat, we weathered the relentless news cycle of the pandemic together…

@jdawsey1 @washingtonpost ❤️

@sarahellison @washingtonpost Much love to a wonderful reporter and person.

I'm much more accustomed to writing about media layoffs than experiencing them. But yesterday I was among the 300 journalists let go from the @washingtonpost. I have been so lucky for so long in this industry. -1-

This is likely the great @MaeveReston’s last story for the paper: washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/… Imagine being told by editors you (and all your friends) should start looking for “Plan B,” and still having the work ethic and talent to write this moving important piece on a 2028 front runner. Then imagine letting her go. ❤️‍🩹

And now the shoe is on the other foot. I have a little time to figure out my next move, but I’m so grateful for my readers, sources and my talented colleagues. We’ll meet again soon and I’ll probably have more to say. Until then! -30-

I’ve watched it go through wrenching changes. The first media story I ever covered was the Chandler family's sale of their stake in Tribune Co. to Sam Zell. At the time, I felt so bad for reporters at the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, & Baltimore Sun -2-