City Cast to expand in DC to help fill void The Post is leaving
Graham Holdings, the company that previously owned The Washington Post, is stepping up its coverage of the DC metro area following the firing of a third of the newspaper’s staff by billionaire Jeff Bezos. Only this time, Graham will do it via podcasting. City Cast, the network of daily local news podcasts and newsletters, has announced it will size up and expand its efforts in the Washington area to fill the gap left by the Post layoffs, reports Inside Radio.
“City Cast is going to immediately and significantly expand our local DC newsroom, to help fill the void the Post is leaving,” says David Plotz, the CEO and founder of City Cast. “City Cast’s parent company, the Graham Holdings Company, knows from its own longtime stewardship of The Washington Post how important local media is to a city’s well-being. Graham Holdings is continuing its commitment to the region by supporting City Cast’s expansion.” Graham sold the Washington Post to Bezos in 2013.
In a post on social media, Plotz says that City Cast plans to initially hire four journalists to start immediately, writing that “City Cast DC” has already attracted tens of thousands of listeners and readers in the Washington area.
City Cast states that it is “a network of daily local podcasts and newsletters that make you feel more connected to the city you love. Currently in Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake, DC, Philly, Portland, Madison, Austin, Nashville, Seattle and Twin Cities.”
The company was co-founded by Plotz (former CEO of Atlas Obscura and editor of Slate) and Chief Creative Officer Andi McDaniel (former Chief Content Officer at WAMU). the parent company is Graham Holdings Company, a diversified conglomerate that formerly owned The Washington Post and currently owns Slate.
