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** OPINION
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** The Washington Post loses its biggest star yet: sports columnist Sally Jenkins
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Sally Jenkins speaks at a Poynter writing excellence workshop on May 12, 2012, in Washington, D.C. (Courtesy: Nick Kirkpatrick)

Every day, it seems, another top-notch journalist leaves The Washington Post.

But on Wednesday, with all due respect to the number of extremely talented people who have already left, the Post suffered its biggest loss yet. Sally Jenkins, who just might be the best sports columnist in the country, announced she has accepted a buyout.

And she did it with a memo ([link removed]) written so well that it could win an award, showing again just how massively talented she is. Dan Steinberg, a former Post sportswriter who is now an editor at The Athletic, tweeted ([link removed]) , “Sally Jenkins's goodbye note is, like, better than anything I have ever written.”

He was hardly alone.

In her note, Jenkins wrote, “So, it’s with a spear in my heart that I separate from you, my adored friends and colleagues.”

The good news is she is not closing up her computer. She is joining The Atlantic as a staff writer focusing on sports.

But this is devastating news for the Post, which has hemorrhaged elite reporters, columnists and editors — mostly because of new policies put in place by owner Jeff Bezos ([link removed]) — over the past several months. The Post recently offered another round of buyouts, and many have accepted.

As the Post’s excellent national baseball writer, Chelsea Janes, tweeted ([link removed]) , “Can’t relate to most things players go through, but last few months taught me new empathy for those who watch their team torn down around them for reasons they don’t fully understand. It’s devastating. And @SallyJenki is latest gut punch, a moral compass for the sports world.”

Post sportswriter Gene Wang tweeted ([link removed]) , “It is impossible to quantify how much @SallyJenki has meant not just to @PostSports but the entire industry. An unrivaled wordsmith and unfailingly supportive colleague whose company made us all better. Cheers to the next chapter!”

Jenkins took the high road by showing her gratitude for the Post.

Jenkins wrote in her note, “The Washington Post has given me most of what I have in this life, both materially and in pride of purpose. I came to work here at a very unfinished 24 years old, and this place made me. Taught me, chiseled me, formed whatever is good and integral in the work. In 30 years, I’ve not had a single, unhappy moment in the newsroom.”

Jenkins arrived at the Post already part of sportswriting royalty. Her father, the late Dan Jenkins, was an iconic sportswriter and author who wrote for Sports Illustrated and penned the classic book, “Semi-Tough,” which was turned into a movie starring Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson and Jill Clayburgh. He was considered the best golf writer in the country, and certainly among the greatest sportswriters ever.

And yet many, including me, would argue that Sally Jenkins went on to surpass her father. Jenkins’ moral compass, as Janes mentioned, as well as her unflinching bravery to take on any person, league or institution was unmatched. She can pull off the rare accomplishment of being brutally critical without taking what feels like cheap shots.

Typically, if Jenkins blasts you, you have it coming.

But she isn’t known just for her fastball. She can write with empathy, compassion and intellect. It’s why she has been named the top sports columnist in the country seven times by the Associated Press Sports Editors, including as recently as 2021. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Commentary in 2020 ([link removed]) .

In 2022, she was named the recipient of the Red Smith Award, which is just about the highest honor in sports journalism. It’s given by the APSE for “major contributions to sports journalism.” Aside from working at the Post, Jenkins also wrote for Sports Illustrated in the early 1990s.

While many see this as the Post losing another valuable columnist, Jenkins insisted in her classy note that it was more about where she was going, not what she was leaving. She wrote, “All of which is to say I’m not leaving out of unhappiness. I’m leaving for an opportunity — the only other job I ever coveted in this world, at The Atlantic Monthly. I have a weakness for literary pursuits, and it got me.”

In a note to staff ([link removed]) , Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, called Jenkins “one of the legends of American journalism.” He added, “Sally is quite possibly America’s greatest living sportswriter — and more generally one of the best feature writers working today.”

And, again, this cannot be stressed enough, her farewell letter to the Post was superb and full of grace. She closed by writing:

I will so miss the sweat, the adventure, and the unruly carping and bitching that hides our bone-deep devotion to the craft, and to this place.

I see the glimmer of a new Washington Post — one that moves. It has to be right-sized, and young trees planted, but when the clocks all start chiming at the same time, it will be glorious. I believe that and you should too.

And I will be applauding you until my hands hurt.


A MESSAGE FROM POYNTER
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** Sarasota, Florida, event: Poynter’s 50th anniversary exhibit
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Step into the story of how journalism has changed and where it’s headed. Poynter’s "Moments of Truth: An Exploration of Journalism’s Past, Present, and Future" exhibit runs August 4–11 at The Ringling, featuring interactive displays and a free week of media literacy events. The week culminates in a thought-provoking community conversation with leaders in journalism and AI, examining how emerging technologies are reshaping the truth behind the images we see.

Register for the events ([link removed])


** One thing to add
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Chelsea Janes followed up her first tweet about Jenkins with this one ([link removed]) : “That being said, if WaPo’s in a rebuild I can promise you one thing after 10-plus years here: Plenty of talent still on the roster, and everyone on that roster plays to win.”


** Wait, there’s more
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Shortly after Jenkins’ announcement, another high-profile Post person announced his departure. Media critic Erik Wemple announced he is taking the buyout and moving on to The New York Times. Wemple wrote that he will cover the media from Washington for the Times’ business section.

So, yeah, the good news is Wemple is staying in the media business. His analysis is always smart, measured and interesting. He’s the rare media critic who has strong opinions without having “hot takes” for the sake of being spicy. He’s one of the good guys.

The bad news is, again, the Post is losing a valuable member of the newsroom.

While it might be easy to think the Post is losing everybody and that the newsroom will be left with a skeleton crew, the fact is that there is still a lot of good talent at the Post, which continues to produce really good work.

But there’s no question that some incredible talent — Jenkins and Wemple being the latest examples — is walking out the door. And talent like that just might be irreplaceable.


** Sharpe out at ESPN
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Shannon Sharpe, shown here in February. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

More big sports media news. ESPN is parting ways with Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe less than two weeks after Sharpe settled a lawsuit in which an ex-girlfriend accused him of sexual assault.

The suit against him was filed in April, at which time he temporarily stepped away from ESPN. He had been a regular guest on “First Take” with Stephen A. Smith. Sharpe publicly denied any wrongdoing and said he would return to the air when the NFL training camps started.

The unnamed woman, called “Jane Doe” in the suit, was suing Sharpe for $50 million, claiming “pain and suffering, psychological and emotional distress, mental anguish, embarrassment and humiliation.” Sharpe said the relationship with the woman was always consensual and called the suit a “shakedown.”

On July 18, the woman’s attorney announced that the two parties had “reached a mutually agreed upon resolution.” But there were no specifics to the settlement.

Sharpe had built a nice post-playing career in media and eventually landed a spot opposite Skip Bayless on Fox Sports 1’s “Undisputed.” After a falling out with Bayless, Sharpe left and then joined ESPN, where he seemed to have real chemistry with Smith during his twice-a-week guest appearances on “First Take.” In June 2024, Sharpe signed a multiyear deal with ESPN. Along the way, Sharpe built a very successful podcast, “Club Shay Shay.” He also has a podcast with former NFL player Chad Ochocinco called “Nightcap.”

The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand wrote ([link removed]) that both podcasts are “currently distributed by The Volume in an agreement that concludes at the end of August, according to sources briefed on the deal. Before the suit became public in April, Sharpe was closing in on a major podcast deal that may have been worth as much as $100 million, as Front Office Sports reported at the time and sources briefed on the situation confirmed to The Athletic.”

It’s not known publicly where that potential deal stands. But what is known is he won’t be returning to ESPN.

Awful Announcing’s Sam Neumann wrote ([link removed]) , “His exit marks the end of one of the most talked-about studio show runs in recent ESPN history. Sharpe joined ‘First Take’ in August 2023 and quickly became a viral fixture alongside Smith. Their chemistry helped drive ratings and gave the show a renewed sense of energy. ESPN built its weekday mornings around them, and Smith openly lobbied for Sharpe’s return after the lawsuit was filed.”

“I’m hopeful that I’ll have my brother back on the airwaves talking football next season,” Stephen A. Smith said in May.

That possibility ended on Wednesday.


** She’s hired
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Dasha Burns, the new host of C-SPAN’s new show, “CeaseFire.” (Courtesy: C-SPAN)

Dasha Burns, the White House bureau chief for Politico, has been named host for the inaugural season of C-SPAN’s new program, “CeaseFire.” The show debuts in the fall.

C-SPAN describes it like this: “This new weekly series takes a different approach to the typical political panel. It will feature leaders and lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle who would typically be pitted against one another — instead paired for honest and civil discussions about how to tackle the nation’s most pressing problems.”

Burns, who is also the chief correspondent of Politico’s Playbook, said in a statement, “C-SPAN has a respected, credible, and non-partisan brand which matches my approach to political reporting and the mission of Politico. As polarized as this country may seem, ‘Ceasefire’ will show that we can still work together as a nation to find common ground. I am looking forward to hosting this unique program and pushing people out of their comfort zones to move beyond partisan acrimony. There is nothing like it on TV today.”


** Amazon’s deal with The New York Times
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The Wall Street Journal's Alexandra Bruell broke this news Wednesday: “Amazon to Pay New York Times at Least $20 Million a Year in AI Deal.” ([link removed])

What’s new here is the financial aspect of the deal.

Bruell wrote, “The companies announced their deal in May and said it gives Amazon access to content from the Times’s news and cooking products, along with its sports property, the Athletic. Amazon can use the material to train AI models and feature summaries and short excerpts of Times content in its products and services, including Alexa. It was the first AI-related licensing pact for the Times and Amazon’s first such agreement with a publisher.”


** Media tidbits
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* Veteran media journalist Margaret Sullivan, from her American Crisis newsletter, with“The 'Media Capitulation Index.’ A sweeping report — with rankings — on the decline of independence in our corporatized media.” ([link removed])
* Nieman Lab’s Laura Hazard Owen with “Publishers like The Philadelphia Inquirer are bundling New York Times content into their subscriptions.” ([link removed])
* The Atlantic’s Charlie Warzel with “The Discourse Is Broken.” ([link removed])
* Taylor Lorenz with “Substack sent a push alert promoting a Nazi blog.” ([link removed])
* Media Matters’ Rob Savillo with “Fox News has aired 168 segments about Tulsi Gabbard's revisionist claims regarding Russia, Obama, and the 2016 election.” ([link removed])


** Hot type
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* Powerful work from The Washington Post’s Sammy Westfall, Amaya Verde, Júlia Ledur and Hazem Balousha: “60,000 Gazans have been killed. 18,500 were children. These are their names.” ([link removed]) It also includes a section at the bottom that details how they were able to get the information.
* NBC News correspondent Morgan Chesky with “This Hit Home: Reporting on the Texas Hill Country Floods.” ([link removed])


** More resources for journalists
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* Turn your life story into a memoir in this pioneering virtual workshop led by Poynter's Director of Craft Kristen Hare, featuring accomplished authors as guest instructors. Enroll now ([link removed]) .
* Join a five-day, in-person workshop that gives new managers the skills they need to help forge successful paths to leadership in journalism, media and technology. Apply today ([link removed]) .
* Journalists of color: Join a free four-day workshop at Poynter's waterfront campus, where accepted applicants develop the skills needed to become powerful writers. Apply now ([link removed]) .

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

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