Dave Weigel Joins Slate

The Washington Post Company, which famously accepted Dave Weigel's resignation from its namesake newspaper last month, has hired him back in essentially the same job for its online magazine Slate.

The Washington Post Company, which famously accepted Dave Weigel’s resignation from its namesake newspaper last month, has hired him back in essentially the same job for its online magazine Slate.

Journalist David Weigel, who resigned from the Washington Post last month following a leaked email controversy, is joining Slate as a political reporter.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Slate, thrilled to be working with writers I’ve read and respected since logging on to read it meant enduring a symphony of dial-up clicks and hisses,” Weigel told The Upshot.

“This is the magazine that invented the sort of journalism I want to do,” he continued. “And I’m very pleased that I’ll get to continue working the beat I developed at the Post, the Independent, and Reason.”

Slate editor David Plotz told The Upshot that Weigel will launch a blog covering politics, but not exclusively on the conservative movement, his area of expertise. Weigel’s also expected to write long-form pieces.

“We’re delighted to have him,” Plotz said. “He’s a ball of energy and fearlessness and curiosity.”

Matt Yglesias tweets that this shows the “Washington Post company is managed by idiots.”  But it may just be that they think a different journalistic style fits a snarky, contra-conventional-wisdom opinion mag than a newspaper.   Although you’d think that they’d have made this move at the time rather than going through this weird two-step.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Brummagem Joe says:

    Jim, the settlement involved was probably going to be rather expensive, not to mention discovery, trials, bad publicity et al.

  2. James Joyner says:

    Actually, I don’t think that’s it.

    First, Weigel at least technically resigned.

    Second, although DC isn’t a right to work jurisdiction, employers tend to get a wide berth when there’s legitimate cause for concern.

  3. Zelsdorf Ragshaft III says:

    Thanks for the heads up James. I can now remove Slate from my favorites list. I have read what the JournoList people have said. I have a solution for any one of those punks who think they can run me into a plate glass window. Solution, thy name is Colt.

  4. Brummagem Joe says:

    James Joyner says:
    Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 18:30
    “Actually, I don’t think that’s it. ”

    Put it down to the cynic in me. Weigel “resigned” in the same way McChrystal “resigned.” And none of this prevents him from bringing a suit with all the aforesaid negatives. It’s much cheaper to put him on Slate’s payroll where his following (and to be fair his talent) will be a net positive than to wade into a swamp with unpredictable outcomes. Believe me, I’ve been there.

  5. Brummagem Joe says:

    Zelsdorf Ragshaft III says:
    Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 18:46
    “Solution, thy name is Colt.”

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  6. In addition to his other issues that most who know who he is know about, he also refused me the right of reply. He wrote about me on his site and then refused to approve a comment I left showing how he was wrong. Even those who agree with him 100% would have to admit that’s not ethical especially for a supposed journalist:

    http://24ahead.com/s/dave-weigel

  7. Greg W says:

    I hope he fails

  8. Brummagem Joe says:

    24AheadDotCom says:
    Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 20:09
    “he also refused me the right of reply”

    I wonder why?

  9. G.A.Phillips says:

    ***Solution, thy name is Colt.*** I can’t have guns, but it can’t be to hard to defend yourself against cowardly little liberal propagandists, a bitch slap or two would probably do the trick….