While newspapers across the country are shuttering, News Corp. is bucking the trend.
The Murdoch-run media conglomerate launched the California Post on Monday, an attempt to replicate the success of the New York Post for a West Coast audience. It’s certainly unique in 2026. Just in the first few weeks of the new year, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announced it would be ceasing operations in May, and the Washington Post will reportedly endure mass layoffs that threaten to kill the paper’s storied sports division entirely.
The California Post believes it can counter the headwinds facing the industry. On its first day, the paper published an exclusive story revealing the origins of an ongoing rift between star Hollywood directors Josh and Benny Safdie. It’s the type of story that is perfect for the SoCal-based paper in the same way its East Coast counterpart leans into celebrity gossip and scandal.
But there’s plenty of substance behind the brash New York Post-style headlines. And that’s especially true when looking at the paper’s sports division, which has poached a number of heavyweights from publications like the Los Angeles Times. Dylan Hernandez and Jack Harris, the duo who previously covered the Los Angeles Dodgers for the Times, have moved over to the Post.
“I knew the biggest market was the Dodgers, that’s the one you have to win,” the paper’s sports editor Ryan Kostecka told Sports Business Journal. “Yes, they do great work, but they also are their own brands themselves. And we’re uniquely positioned here at the California Post, and you’ve seen the New York Post do this. It’s about building the brands of your voice and of your writers.”
Kostecka, of course, is referring to New York Post writers Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman who have covered the Yankees beat for decades. Both writers bring loyal followings to the paper, and the hope is that Hernandez and Harris can replicate that in California.
There’s added benefit to operating newspapers in each of the country’s two largest media markets, too. Kostecka notes that there will be a level of collaboration between the outlets. The two Dodgers writers have already appeared on Heyman and Sherman’s podcast. And now, the two papers will be able to send more reporters to cover national events.
“We’re going to be uniquely positioned to have six, seven reporters at these big national events,” Kostecka told SBJ. “They’re all writing stuff to give us not just the quality but also the quantity of content in very unique and different ways that probably no other publication can do.”
As it stands, the California Post‘s sports division employs 10 journalists — both writers and editors — but the paper will try to double that by next NFL season, adding Rams and Chargers beat writers to the fold. The Post also intends to cover the state’s entire sports landscape, not just the Los Angeles teams.
“The plan is to kind of just take over the California sports scene from the Bay Area all the way down to the coast and here in L.A,” Kostecka said.
Whether you’re a fan of New York Post-style coverage or not, it’s undeniable that the model is successful from a commercial perspective. News Corp. sensed an opening in California, and wants to capitalize. And at a time when the quantity of sportswriting jobs are trending down, the California Post has the opportunity to help slow the trend, at least in part of the country.