Washington Post shuts domestic bureaus

WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- The Washington Post announced Tuesday it is shutting down its bureaus in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, its last three outposts in the United States.

The six correspondents working in those bureaus will be offered jobs in Washington, the Post said, while three news assistants will be laid off.

Marcus Brauchli, the executive editor, went to New York, the largest bureau with three correspondents, to break the news to the staff there.

"The fact is we can effectively cover the rest of the country from Washington," Brauchli said. "We have for years been able to cover issues around the country for our readers with a corps of traveling reporters. It's more possible than it's ever been to cover the issues that matter to our readers from a Washington perspective."

The Post Co.'s newspaper division reported a total loss of $166.7 million in the first three quarters of the year. The division includes smaller papers in addition to the Post.

The newspaper once had six bureaus around the country but had already shut down those in Austin, Texas, Denver and Miami.