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The Washington Post’s losses have become ESPN’s gain.
On Monday, the network announced the hiring of six former Washington Post sportswriters, including Chuck Culpepper, Ben Strauss, Kent Babb, Robert Klemko, Tom Schad, and Kareem Copeland. Front Office Sports first reported the news of Culpepper, Strauss, Babb, and Copeland’s hirings on Monday morning.
All six reporters will join ESPN’s “newsgathering, investigative and enterprise teams over the coming weeks,” according to the network.
“Adding these six outstanding journalists and the reputation of The Washington Post will enhance an ESPN team that is already the best in the business,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “We are proud to advance our robust commitment to journalism, which is core to our mission of serving sports fans. Today’s news strengthens our position as the place to turn for the latest and most in-depth sports news, reporting and feature stories across every platform.”
Both Babb and Culpepper will cover a wide range of sports for the network. Strauss will focus on sports business and investigative journalism, while Copeland will be a Midwest-based reporter covering women’s college basketball and the WNBA. Klemko will cover sports-related crime and investigations, and Schad will serve as a general assignment reporter after previously covering the Commanders for the Post.
Culpepper, Strauss, Babb, Schad, and Copeland were let go by the Post last month as the newspaper shuttered its storied sports section as part of mass layoffs that impacted roughly half the newsroom. Nearly all of the Post’s 45-person sports staff were let go in the layoffs, which affected at least 300 journalists in the paper’s roughly 800-person newsroom.
Since closing its sports department, multiple outlets have scooped up members of the Post’s former roster. That includes The Athletic, which hired six Post alums, including sports editor Jason Murray, longtime baseball writer Barry Svrluga, and Nationals beat writer Spencer Nusbaum. Steven Ginsberg, the executive editor of The Athletic, was a longtime editor at the Post before joining the New York Times-owned sports media company.
Additionally, the Baltimore Banner announced it is expanding its sports coverage into D.C. following the void in coverage the Post’s layoffs created. Ex-Post Nationals beat reporter Andrew Golden announced last week he is joining the local outlet as a sports enterprise and features reporter.
