The owners of Politico.com have announced plans to launch a new local news Web site aimed squarely at WashingtonPost.com. Just how squarely? They’re planning to have a staff of “more than 50” when the yet-to-be-named site launches next spring. And they’ve hired Jim Brady, the Washington Post’s former online editor, to lead the operation. (Brady left Politico in December.)
The site will share content with Politico, ABC 7 and NewsChannel 8, stations also owned by Allbritton Communications.
"We take all competition seriously, and I have high regard for what [Robert] Allbritton has done with his television stations and Politico," Washington Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli told Howard Kurtz. "[But, we are] very strong in local news. The reach and penetration of the Washington Post in its area makes us the dominant player. We are deeply cognizant that makes us a target of most of our rivals in this area."
“Make no mistake,” Allbritton, the company’s namesake chairman, said in a memo to staffers announcing the launch. “This is a work in progress. There are lots of questions that we have not yet tackled and that we can't answer now. Count this as the first of many communications we will have as our ideas come into sharper focus.”
Here’s the full memo:
October 28, 2009
Dear colleagues,
I'm thrilled to give you an update on some important news about our ACC family. The migration of news consumers from print and broadcast to the Web is accelerating, and we are determined to thrive in this new world. So we are planning to launch a local-news website that will harness the power of the Web, social media and new technology to connect Washingtonians with each other and with the information that matters most in their family, civic and work lives.
To run this new venture, we have recruited Jim Brady, an outstanding journalist and the former editor of WashingtonPost.com. Jim is an important pioneer in new media, and he shares our fascination with the exciting possibilities that exist for marrying the power of technology to a deep commitment to local news.
This new project will include a merger of the current WJLA.com and News8.net websites into a site whose aim is to set a new standard for media coverage of local news, with a staff of more than 50 people.
We have seen with POLITICO the great results that can come from thinking big and recruiting a newsroom full of talented and ambitious journalists. Jim's operation will be a separate venture from POLITICO, but we are hoping to take many of the good lessons our company has learned with that successful experience and apply them in a new setting.
I am committed to making our new enterprise among the nation's most ambitious and innovative projects of its kind. We will launch a new model that will test ideas for harnessing the power of the Internet. It will connect and empower local communities in a way that will engage readers and viewers throughout the greater Washington area.
