Politico | Capital | The Wall Street Journal
Politico owner Robert Allbritton has purchased the website Capital, both companies announced Sunday night. Politico Executive Editor Jim VandeHei will serve as the publication’s president. Tom McGeveran and Josh Benson will remain as co-editors.
Capital covers New York power structures, including the media. “This is going to allow us to get bigger and better,” McGeveran and Benson say in their announcement. They’ll hire more people, redesign their site and look for new sources of money: “With POLITICO, we’ll have the strategic and organizational muscle to tap into other revenue streams.”
Apparently, Capital will also observe Politico’s habit of referring to itself in capital letters.
Allbritton “plans to increase Capital New York’s staff to more than 30 people from seven in the next month and roll out subscription offerings on topics such as New York City government, state government and media, according to executives from both companies,” Keach Hagey reports.
“The model is changing,” Mr. Allbritton said. “What was once in print and advertising-driven goes more and more subscription and more and more niche, delivering valuable information to people where it’s worth something to them as part of their job to be informed. I don’t know if it’s good for America, but it’s definitely the way the world is going.” He joked, “I blame the Internet.”
Disclosure: I used to work for an Allbritton Communications news startup in the Washington, D.C., area.
