Wonkblog Wunderkind Might Walk Away From Post

588px-Jeff_Bezos_2005MSNBC analyst and Washington Post policy writer Ezra Klein could walk away from his day job. New York Times reports Klein, who runs the Post’s Wonkblog, is ready to jump Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos? new ship.

Washington Post Katharine Weymouth, late Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham’s granddaughter, and Bezos refused to pony up for Klein’s proposed Web site.

He put forward a proposal with detailed revenue projections to build a new website dedicated to explanatory journalism on a wide range of topics beyond political policy.

Bezos, worth nearly $30 billion, bought the famed newspaper from the Graham family for $250 million. Klein, who was reportedly armed with a detailed business plan, asked for an 8-figure investment.

An anonymous source claimed he’s connected with venture capitalists and other possible investors. ?Klein is considered a media wunderkind, according to Huffington Post.

Klein joined the paper at age 24, having already established himself as a respected policy blogger at The American Prospect and as founder of the now-shuttered Journolist.

He’s also a Bloomberg View columnist. Klein has become quite the Post commodity. If fences aren’t mended, his absence could cripple the newsroom. According to Huffington Post, Wonkblog is nearly an entity in and of itself.

Klein’s move doesn’t surprise an unnamed ?senior media executive”.

Klein has pondered such a move before. Still, the executive said Klein spoke of his loyalty to the Post — and of his awareness of the difficulties facing a blogger looking to create a stand-alone operation outside of a larger media institution, as Andrew Sullivan has done since leaving The Daily Beast.

Edited by DH.

Jason Carson Wilson is a Chicago-based freelance writer with more than 10 years of journalism experience. Wilson previously worked as a staff writer for daily and weekly newspapers throughout downstate Illinois. He also contribute to the Windy City Times. Wilson, a gay, African-American, is a first-year Chicago Theological Seminary student. He covers stories about GLBT rights, human rights, marriage equality, politics, race, and religion.