Jim VandeHei and John Harris announce first online issue of "Politico"

[DeepModem Mom]

Welcome to Politico
By: Jim VandeHei and John Harris
January 23, 2007

We welcome readers to The Politico and politico.com. Thanks for giving us a look on our debut.

The Politico's goals are simple. Over the past several weeks, we set out to assemble the most talented and interesting collection of journalists -- established names as well as promising young people -- that we could find. Now, we will turn these reporters loose on the subject we love: national politics.

We will focus on three arenas. The first is Congress and the constant flow of agendas, personalities and power struggles that define daily life on Capitol Hill. The second is the 2008 presidential campaign, a race already churning and one likely to shape history in ways far beyond the typical election. The third is lobbying and advocacy, a part of the capital economy undergoing rapid growth and change. It is a business alive with interesting and influential characters whose impact is dimly understood and insufficiently covered.

We won't usually be chasing the story of the day. We'll put our emphasis on the "backstories" -- those that illuminate the personalities, relationships, clashes, ideas and political strategies playing out in the shadows of official Washington.

Reading a story should be just as interesting as talking with the reporter over a sandwich or a beer. It's a curiosity of journalism that this often isn't true. The traditional newspaper story is written with austere, voice-of-God detachment. These newspaper conventions tend to muffle personality, humor, accumulated insight -- all the things readers hunger for as they try to make sense of the news and understand what politicians are really like. Whenever we can, we'll push against these limits. In the process, we'll share with readers a lot more of what we know instead of leaving it in our notebooks....

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0107/2422.html

LINK TO THE SITE:

http://politico.com/

[babylonsister]

1. In the (very) negative column, Mike Allen is also on the staff. nt