Taibbi to start publication looking at financial and political corruption

Matt Taibbi, a Rolling Stone writer known for his critical coverage of Wall Street, is starting a publication devoted to covering financial and political corruption.

Ravi Somaiya of The New York Times writes, “Mr. Taibbi will start his own publication focusing on financial and political corruption, he said in an interview on Wednesday. First Look is financed by the eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, who is worth $8.5 billion, according to Forbes. Mr. Omidyar has pledged $250 million to the project.

“‘It’s obvious that we’re entering a new phase in the history of journalism,’ Mr. Taibbi said. ‘This is clearly the future, and this was an opportunity for me to be part of helping to found something and create something that might carry us into the next generation.’

“The site, as yet unnamed, will open this year. Mr. Taibbi will write for it and take an editorial role, while based in New York. There will be ‘an emphasis on bringing in talented writers who can have fun with the subject in addition to producing solid investigative journalism,’ he said.

“First Look began its first publication, The Intercept, with the national security reporters Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill. In recent weeks, the group has hired Lynn Oberlander, formerly of The New Yorker, as its general counsel, and the author and journalist Peter Maass, among others.”

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