Washington Post will hire ‘new writers and data wizards’ for post-Ezra Klein iniative

WashPost PR

Jim Tankersley will lead an effort to “expand our policy coverage and reach new readers beyond Wonkblog’s core audience,” The Washington Post announced Friday. Wonkblog founder Ezra Klein is leaving the paper to start a new venture.

There’s no name for the new post-Klein thing, the Post says, but it “will combine top-shelf writing, razor-sharp data analysis and rich human drama to explain and illuminate complicated public policy topics for our audience.”

The site will feature a steady stream of data-driven, narrative stories, with words, photographs and video; vibrant graphics that explain complex trends; and a variety of frontier-pushing approaches to engage readers in conversations about how to solve America’s biggest problems. In other words, we will tell stories through the voices of ordinary Americans, we will tell stories with numbers, and we will tell stories with our users’ help.

Tankersley “has been honing this new idea for some time,” the announcement says. “Joining him will be a core staff of new writers and data wizards, who are already being recruited and hired.” The Post expects to launch this new initiative in the spring.

Oh: And we're hiring! Do you do narrative? Data mining? Both?? Hit me up: jim.tankersley@washpost.com.

— Jim Tankersley (@jimtankersley) January 24, 2014

Related: Slate’s Matt Yglesias Joining Ezra Klein Venture (The Huffington Post)