I was sitting in the Redskins media room like I have off and on since 1983. I was reading Twitter and saw my boss say her last day at the paper was tomorrow.
Wait, what?
A quick call told me I was also done. The Washington Post Express was putting out its last edition in the next few hours. I wrote my last column and said goodbye to staffers. As a contract employee, there was no severance.
For the third time since 2013, I’m layed off from my newspaper job. The Washington Examiner let non-political writers go in 2013. PressBoxDC went video only in 2017. Now the Express is gone.
Now, I’m not unemployed. I also write for 106.7 The Fan, Warpath magazine, SportBusiness.com and others. And, I tour guide regularly. Have three tours this week as fall season resumes.
But I’ve been a newspaperman since I was 18 and losing a print outlet always hurts. Maybe another opportunity will come along. If not, it was a great 41-year run and I’ll continue to work elsewhere.
Covering the Redskins has taught me many life lessons, but the biggest is the ability to move on from losses. Chew on it for a day, then focus on the next thing.
To the hundreds of readers who have sent supportive messages, thank you so much. Don’t worry – I’ll be fine. Just read my stories on other outlets and follow me on @Snider_Remarks on Twitter.
It is perhaps the most overlooked statue in plain sight of the man for whom the city is named. Washington Circle by Foggy Bottom that intersects 23rd, K St., New Hampshire Ave. and Pennsylvania Ave. NW has a bronze equestrian statue of George Washington sculpted by Clark Mills. Yes, the same Clark Mills whose Andrew Jackson statue sits in the middle of Lafayette Park.
