Though when asked about the change Harris responded, "No one should interpret this as people taking flight from the old media.”  Some experts believe the shift in power from newspapers to Internet ventures seems to be starting here.  

Slate journalist Jack Shafer wonders, “Are journalists leaping from the newspaper ship before it sinks?” Transferring their skills to media endeavors Shafer feels that journalists may be weaning themselves out of the print industry.  

However, VandeHei and Harris seem to be ignoring industry skeptics and sticking to their own reasons for joining with Allbritton. “At the end of the day, the appeal of starting something wholly new, where we could make decisions and have influence from the beginning, won the day. Said Harris “It’s not impossible to accomplish this within an established institution but it is harder. What we are doing is riskier but potentially more rewarding.”

Both journalists hope to bring a new type of journalism to the political spectrum, taking readers closer to Capitol Hill than ever before. But some are even skeptical of how they plan to go about uncovering the political dealings of political hill. “Their dream is the same dream every generation of mainstream political reporters has had: to pull back the curtain and show how things really work in this town.” Said Pressthink journalist Jay Rosen.

Source:American Journalism Review, Slate, New York Observer, Washingtonian.com, Pressthink