Allbritton Carves News Niche With Politico

By Andrew Gauthier 

TVNewsCheck

At Allbritton Communications, it’s not all about Politico, although it seems like that lately.

The New York Times featured Mike Allen, the top blogger at the website/niche newspaper, on the cover of its Sunday magazine in April and a couple of weeks later President Obama used the venture as a jumping off point for jokes at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

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Politico has clearly made an impact, charging into what seemed a glutted market for political news and analysis three years ago and quickly carving out an important place for itself. And it’s even managed to show a profit, albeit a small one, despite a staggering recession that has sent other newspapers into freefall.

But perhaps more important than what Politico is is what it represents: the determination of a local broadcaster to own its market, by any means or medium necessary. More…

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