Albritton Communications will launch its much-anticipated, multi-media political news source today. The Politico and Politico.com will use a multi-pronged approach — with content on its Web site, in its newspaper and on News Channel 8 — that the company hopes will set it apart in an already crowded field.
“People want their news faster and more conversationally,” said Jim VandeHei, Politico’s executive editor. “Waiting for a story that breaks at 10 a.m. and writing for the next day’s paper is over.”
Politico will generate its revenue through an advertising-supported business model, with many of the ads coming from trade associations, lobbyists, government contractors and other companies looking to attract the attention of Congress, said Albritton President Frederick Ryan Jr. in September when the venture was initially announced.
“What has interested us in this new Capitol Hill paper is that Congress is always involved in making decisions, so it’s a bit of a different advertising base,” Ryan said. “We are the only ones that will be doing combined television, Internet and print,” Ryan said. “This will be a chance to be a one-stop shop — an entire advertising strategy for a campaign.”
