NOTUS, the politics-focused nonprofit outlet launched by Politico cofounder Robert Allbritton, has hired several Washington Post journalists as the publication seeks to become “the next great Washington newsroom.”
“We are not trying to replicate what The Washington Post was or is today,” Albritton, NOTUS CEO Arielle Elliot and Editor-in-Chief Tim Grieve wrote to NOTUS staffers in a memo on Monday, saying the paper would not produce a daily newspaper or cover the region’s suburbs but would cover local Washington news and sports.
The goal, they said, is to combine “the power of The Washington Post in the 1970, the punch of Politico in the 2010s and the audience focus required to build a sustainable news organization in 2026.”
“What we’re building is different – a publication that’s focused on both political Washington and local Washington, that’s sustained by a variety of revenue streams, and that, freed from legacy costs, can grow rather than cut its way into the best version of itself,” the three wrote.
Its latest hires include Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank, senior Post congressional correspondent Paul Kane, Post chief economics correspondent Jeff Stein and Politico defense reporter Joe Gould. Semafor first reported Milbank and Stein’s hires, while Status reported Gould would join NOTUS.
NOTUS — which stands “News of the United States” — will also unveil a new name later this year, the trio wrote, and was working through options. The outlet also plans to hire more journalists and support staff.
Milbank said in a note on X the revamped outlet will become “the hometown publication the D.C. region sorely needs” and that his work will merge his decades of writing on politics with his recent work on reconnecting with nature.
“As I reengage in the former, my soul will need a lot of the latter,” Milbank wrote.
A Post spokesperson did not respond to an immediate request for comment on Milbank’s exit.
The hires come after Semafor reported Allbritton wanted to seize upon the Post’s mass layoffs last month to expand NOTUS, the politics and policy-focused newsroom he launched in 2023 through the Allbritton Journalism Institute, into a full-blown news operation, potentially under a different name.
Allbritton and Grieve approached several top Post reporters — including Klein, Kane, White House bureau chief Matt Viser and tech reporter Drew Harwell, among others — for roles, according to Semafor.
Milbank linked to a new website, “signupforthenews.com,” with a landing page urging visitors to “stay tuned!”
Other news outlets have seized upon the Post’s layoffs, which saw more than 300 journalists lose their jobs and a retreat from local, foreign and sports coverage. The Baltimore Banner said it would expand coverage into Washington sports, while the Athletic and ESPN have hired several current and laid-off Post journalists for sports roles. USA Today also named former Post managing editor Jamie Stockwell its new vice president of news.
