At a going away party for dozens of Washington Post journalists last Wednesday evening, the veteran political correspondent Dan Balz gave a toast in the newspaper’s offices. Post staffers had become so used to fielding questions about tumult at the paper that it sometimes felt like people were overlooking the great scoops they were still getting.

“Stop reading about the Washington Post,” Balz said he wanted to remind the DC media world, “and just read the Washington Post.”

But Balz, 79, was heading out the door, bound for semi-retirement. He had taken a buyout offer like dozens of his colleagues. The exodus of staff began as a trickle early this year and grew to a steady flow last week as the paper’s beleaguered staff approached their July 31 deadline for making final decisions on

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