Politico announces post-election expansion

ARLINGTON, Va. – POLITICO publisher Robert Allbritton today announced plans for a major post-election expansion designed to broaden its coverage of Washington governance and national politics.

POLITICO next year will increase publication of its newspaper to four days when Congress is in session, increase circulation and expand its staff to more than 100 employees. It currently has a staff of 85.

The paper will remain predominantly focused on Capitol Hill (it is hand delivered to every office and top staffer) and add new high-level congressional editors and reporters. But it also will become the only Capitol Hill paper to be delivered to every top White House official as well as senior members of the Cabinet and top departmental officials.

POLITICO plans to provide the most comprehensive coverage of Congress, the White House and the lobbying community available in the nation’s capital and nationwide, both online and in print.

The company plans to roll out on Nov. 5 a new White House team as well as a Web page called "POLITICO 44." POLITICO plans to have one of the largest rosters of White House reporters in the country and provide minute-by-minute coverage of the new president - starting with the transition to power the day after the election. POLITICO 44 will provide readers inside and outside the Beltway a new and exciting way of gaining insight into the policies, politics, and key players central to the new administration. More details will be announced shortly before the election.

The new White House team will be led by Mike Allen, the publication's senior political reporter, who covered the Bush presidency for the Washington Post and Time magazine. It will also include POLITICO reporters Eamon Javers, formerly of Business Week; Jeanne Cummings, formerly of The Wall Street Journal; Jonathan Martin and Ben Smith, POLITICO’s popular political bloggers; and Carrie Budoff Brown, who has covered the Obama campaign for POLITICO.

POLITICO Managing Editor Bill Nichols, a former White House reporter for USA Today, will oversee the new White House team. John Harris and Jim VandeHei, POLITICO's co-founders and former Washington Post reporters, will write regularly on the new president's agenda. Roger Simon, POLITICO’s top columnist, will write about the characters, the stagecraft and the intrigue of the new administration. Allbritton said the company will hire several editors and reporters to help with the expanded White House coverage.

"Our goal is simple: We want to offer readers the fastest, smartest, most authoritative coverage of Washington in the nation period," said Allbritton. "These are important times and we plan to unleash the best reporters in the country on the most important story: how the new Congress and president govern in this historic period."

POLITICO’s coverage of the 2008 race has been widely praised by everyone from NBC's Tom Brokaw and The New York Times' chief media writer David Carr to Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz and American Journalism Review.

Editor & Publisher this month reported that POLITICO - launched in January of 2007 - is now the 10th most heavily trafficked newspaper website in the nation. POLITICO has co-hosted three presidential debates and recently unveiled a new community for political insiders that includes top congressional leaders, governors and some of the most influential voices in public policy and politics.

POLITICO's coverage is available online and in print. Allbritton said circulation of the print edition will increase to more than 32,000. The company currently prints roughly 27,000 copies.

The company recently launched a new POLITICO Network that allows newspapers and websites across the country to access POLITICO content in exchange for the right to sell some of their Web advertising inventory. Initial members include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (ajc.com), The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philly.com), The Denver Post (DenverPost.com), the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Cleveland.com), Breitbart.com and more than 30 other major news outlets.