Angsty Journalists Said the WaPo Sports Section Was Indispensable. The Evidence Suggests Otherwise.

The Washington Post shuttered its so-called sports section last week amid sweeping layoffs intended to transform the once-revered paper into a product that makes money because people actually want to read it. Doing what comes naturally, the journalism community shrieked in agony while denouncing anyone who suggested that a media outlet losing $100 million per year was not sustainable. Some journalists were particularly aggrieved by the demise of the sports section, which they hailed as uniquely...