Andrew Sullivan is leaving The Atlantic and taking his blog, The Daily Dish, with him. The blog will find a new home on The Daily Beast in April, and Sullivan will also become a contributor to Newsweek. His two destinations are really one -- the media outlets are merging together under editor in chief Tina Brown.
In a post on his (soon-to-be) old site, Sullivan has a lot of nice things to say about his bosses -- both old and new -- and assures his readers not to expect changes in content:
I also want to assure you that, as for the past ten years, through andrewsullivan.com, Time and the Atlantic, I will retain total editorial responsibility for what appears in this column. And though we will continue to evolve, there will be no substantive change in content as we move. You don't even have to change your bookmark, since you'll be automatically redirected, once April arrives. If you want to make sure you don't lose track, bookmark us now and you will be automatically redirected when April 4 comes around.
According to the New York Post, "Brown said there had been informal talks with Sullivan stretching back 10 months, but it was only after the merger with Newsweek that she was able to persuade him to bring his blog, The Dish, and four employees on board."
When he started his outpost on the Web in 2000, long before political blogging became fashionable, he outdid even his über-productive Fleet Street precursors. Andrew wrote constantly, and obsessively, about everything from politics to his pet beagles. The Daily Dish, as he called it, became the place that took on the big moral questions of the day. Andrew raged (rightly) against the Bush administration’s conduct of the Iraq War and the awful spectacle of torture. Lately, he has taken up arms against Obama’s budget proposal, proving that he plays no favorites. This fearlessness and doggedness makes him a natural soul mate of The Daily Beast. Scrolling down Andrew’s blog helps to give orientation in the world, to get the smartest possible fix on the news at any given moment. A rarity, he is willing to admit mistakes and change positions (sometimes radically) in the face of new evidence. Little wonder he has built one of the most devoted followings on the Web, with 1.2 million unique visitors a month, 82 percent of them bookmarked.
Sullivan is the latest acquisition for Brown's team, which recently added Howard Kurtz, Robin Givhan, Peter Boyer and Wayne Barrett. Despite the marque names, "austerity" is a buzzword around Brown's anticipated Newsweek overhaul.
The New York Times reports, "The launch date of the revamped Newsweek has not been revealed, but one person briefed on the plan said last week that March 7 was the target."