Politico announced Friday that it is shaking up its media coverage in the run-up to the 2012 election.
Ben Smith, who has been a political reporter for the site, and new hire Dylan Byers are launching a blog about politics and the media on Monday. Byers is moving from his current position as a media reporter from Adweek magazine. Keach Hagey, the site's current media reporter, will move to a long-form media reporting beat, while Smith and Byers will focus on the blog.
Politico's top editors made the announcement in an email to staff on Friday morning. See the full memo below.
Folks,
In announcing a few weeks ago that Dylan Byers will be joining us as a media reporter, we promised more details about some exciting plans to expand our media coverage - and here they are.
On Monday, Ben Smith's blog will be re-launched with a new focus on both politics and media. This has long been an interest of Ben's and broadening his reach to include political media and how the 2012 race is being covered is going to make a pioneering blog that is already a must-read even more essential to the coverage of this campaign cycle.
Dylan will work with Ben, both on short items and on longer stories - co-written and on his own - in the same way Emily Schultheis works with Ben on politics. And Emily will continue in her role, both on the newly expanded page and in continuing the great string of enterprise pieces she's had in recent months.
Our media blog in its current form will end, which has the happy result of giving Keach Hagey free reign to concentrate totally on the long-form journalism she does so well. While Ben and Dylan will concentrate on viewing the media through the prism of the 2012 campaign, Keach will be able to roam throughout the media landscape. Two of her most recent stories - a terrific tick-tock on the Post's Marco Rubio piece and a sharp look at liberal journalists getting caught up in the Occupy Wall Street movement - are testament to her keen eye and writing skills.
The editing structure for this new team is still being worked out, so Bill Nichols will oversee the launch, with a permanent editor to be named very soon.
Ben has been a critical part of POLITICO's success and a true trailblazer in Web journalism. We feel this reframing of his work gives him even more ways to produce high-impact journalism and gives POLITICO a strengthened approach to a topic that has always been key to our recipe for success.
Bill
John
Jim
Danielle
Craig