Mike Kinsley Heads to WaPo. Me too.

Leaves LA Times "on a bitter note".

It's a fine segue to a piece I've been wanting to write for a few days, especially now that the New York Times is launching TimesSelect, which will cut off op-ed access to non-subscribers like me. I think this is a real mistake for the Times and will only serve to limit the impact of their generally excellent op-ed columnists and contributors.

The Washington Post is quickly becoming my favorite national paper though. No, they don't have Paul Krugman or David Brooks, but Dan Froomkin's White House Briefing is more than worth reading every week day, and Terry Neal's Talking Points are almost always compelling. Recent op-eds by Eugene Robinson have also been excellent.

Another WaPo feature that really sets it apart, for bloggers anyway, is the prominent placement of a Technorati feed on each article. Salon.com does a similar thing, but sticks the feed way at the bottom. WaPo has made the decision to feed bloggers in exchange for discussion of their articles, and that's a winning strategy.

It's worth mentioning that the Times is usually somewhat awkward when it dares to send reporters outside of Gotham, at least any farther than DC. The Post actually reports on and to a varied assortment of communities in three states, and seems to have a better understanding that there is life outside of the bunker of its home city.

Anyway, as I said when the Times initially announced its decision to wall off the stuff that people read, I'll be cutting them off on September 19. Everybody's got to make a living, and I don't begrudge them theirs, but I believe strongly in free content on the Internet and make a principled decision, as they have.