Big job change in the often clubby world of D.C. media: Erik Wemple [5] -- the former TBD.com editor who covered the Washington Post as a columnist for the Washington City Paper -- is joining the Post as an opinion columnist. (The move was first reported by Politico [6].)
Wemple left the alt-weekly after more than a decade in 2010 to launch TBD.com [7].
TBD, a hyperlocal launched with much hype and even more promise, has seen plenty of turmoil in its first year of existence.
In November, Jim Brady, the site's founding editor and former executive editor of the Washington Post, left TBD just three months after its launch over "stylistic differences" he had with publisher Robert Allbritton [8].
In February, Allbritton laid off as much as half of TBD's staff in a massive reorganization [9], putting management of the site under the purview of its TV stations.
Here's the Washington Post's internal announcement (via Romenesko [10]) of Wemple's hire:
From: Susan Avanzado
Date: Wed, 11 May 2011 15:36:32 -0400
Subject: ANNOUNCEMENT: Erik Wemple to join Opinions section of The Post
To: NEWS -- All Newsroom
We’re delighted that Erik Wemple, most recently editor of TBD.com, has agreed to join the Opinions section of The Post. Erik will write a reported opinion blog focusing on media and politics. In that role, he will join Greg Sargent and Jennifer Rubin, who are writing opinion blogs -- The Plum Line and Right Turn -- with a heavy emphasis on reporting. Erik’s blog will feature in-depth reporting on media organizations that cater to Washington and beyond and will follow the candidates in the 2012 election through their interactions with media across its various platforms.
Many of us at The Post became familiar with Erik and the quality of his work when he was editor of Washington City Paper, where his beat included The Post. His reporting was invariably tenacious and fair. At City Paper and TBD, he’s also made a mark as a wise and innovative editor. We’re very much looking forward to the work he will do at The Post.
Fred Hiatt
Marisa Katz