At the New Republic, Gabe Sherman has a fun piece about the rise and rise of Politico, DC’s in-house paper for political intrigue and gossip. There’s plenty to consider: Politico is essentially a web-paper that carries ads in a small circulation print edition circulated on Capitol Hill and K Street. At the moment – though they say this is changing fast – it’s the print edition that makes the profits. Nonetheless, as a niche, but obsessed, audience there’s no doubting the impact Politico has made. The most entertaining bit of the piece is the sniffiness with which “old media” regard this whipper-snapper:
Politico’s pace and self-promotion has irritated some in the Washington press corps. “It’s maddening. Everyone has to chase them,” one Washington reporter complains. “You wind up running down these gotcha moments that are painful. … [I]t’s the New York Post approach to generating news.” After Martin’s confrontation with Obama last month, Wonkette called Politico a “vulgar asshole of a publication” and announced the blog would cease linking to the site.
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