Final Washington Post Express cover: ‘Hope you enjoy your stinkin’ phones’

Editors of The Washington Post’s now-shuttered “Post Express” edition fired a parting shot Thursday on the cover of the final edition of their publication.

Thursday’s edition of the Post’s free magazine bore an image of a KO’d newspaper box underneath the headline “Hope you enjoy your stinkin’ phones,” as a subheadline declared that the publication had been done in by smartphone-obsessed consumers.

The final edition of Express is perfect. pic.twitter.com/Kvu6dATpFC

— Julie Vitkovskaya (@Julie_Vit) September 12, 2019

“Add Express to the list of print publications done in by mobile technology,” the editors wrote. “Sadly, this is our final edition.”

{mosads}The Post announced the shuttering of its Express publication just a day earlier, ending the 16-year run of the publication handed out to riders on D.C.’s Metro rail system.

About 20 journalists have been laid off as a result of the publication’s closure. The Washington Post Guild, which did not represent the Express’s writers, slammed the decision and in particular the short notice given to employees, some of whom found out from media reports.

“This announcement came the day before operations ceased, with no advance warning,” the union said Wednesday.

“These employees, many of them young women, performed the same jobs as other staff in our newsroom for substantially lesser pay,” it continued.

In a statement, the Post pointed to Metro’s expansion of Wi-Fi capability in stations and trains as a reason for the publication’s closure.

“Express has been an integral part of the morning commute for Washingtonians — a lively, highly engaging publication that has served Washington’s Metro riders for years. With the growth of WiFi in Washington’s Metro system, The Post can now serve those readers in ways that couldn’t have been imagined when it launched 16 years ago,” the statement read.

“More and more readers are consuming The Post’s content digitally, and The Post will continue to serve those who commute via Metro with digital products, including its mobile site, apps, newsletters and podcasts,” it continued.