Evolving media: Legal blog departs Washington Post for libertarian territory
“The once rigid edifice of traditional media continues to evolve, driven by changing attitudes of both news consumers and those who actually produce the original content. Media hybrids are emerging, attuned to people rather than news conglomerates, perhaps. Case in point: An influential Washington Post blogger has bid farewell to that news organization. The Volokh Conspiracy — a legal and policy blog launched 15 years ago by UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh — has moved to Reason Magazine, published by the Los Angeles-based Reason Foundation, a bastion of libertarian principles, including individual liberty, free markets and the rule of law.
Mr. Volokh — whose has two dozen law professors and attorneys on his vibrant team — describes the contributors as “libertarian, conservative, centrist, or some mixture of these.” He also says he was concerned by The Post’s ever-tightening paywall and said that he wanted to assert the blog’s editorial independence — “making sure that we can write what we want, in the way that we think is right.”
So he left.
“We especially value our loyal, longtime readers, who are particularly likely to trust and enjoy our work. And it’s important to us that law students, college students, young lawyers, and others have free, easy access to the analysis and discussion on our site. Moving to Reason lets us do these things, while still partnering with a respected media organization that we have long admired,” Mr. Volokh says.”
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Harper, Jennifer. The Washington Times 13 December 2017.