Justin Wolfers will be brought on as a contributing columnist for an upcoming New York Times venture focused on analytical coverage of opinion polls, economic indicators, politics, policy, education, and sports. The new site will be overseen by David Leonhart, who will move from his current position as Washington D.C. bureau chief. In addition to Wolfers, the site has hired Amanda Cox, who will anchor the graphics coverage, Michael Beschloss, a historian who will serve as a contributing columnist, and Nate Cohn, who will join as a correspondent from The New Republic.
In a memo to the New York Times staff announcing the hires, Leonhart wrote that Wolfers is "one of the most consistently thought-provoking economists working today" whose "tweets have become among the smartest coverage anywhere of economic indicators."
The first round of appointments for the venture has also received coverage in Politico and the Wall Street Journal.