Since 2006, Politico has posted a wealth of content to its website and placed copies of its print edition in bins all around Washington, D.C., free for the taking. Now, the launch of a pay-for-content system will give the publication another source of income, and pit it against the longstanding subscription services offered by Congressional Quarterly and the recently bulked-up National Journal. 

Executive editor Jim VandeHei says there's still a niche for Politico in the market. "There is a perception that this market is overserved, when we actually think it’s underserved," he told The Times. 

The announcement came hours after the National Journal revealed its newly designed website and magazine, with both the subscription service and the coverage outside the paywall expanded. 

Politico says it will bring on 50 new people to staff the project, and once it's available the subscriptions will start at $1,495 for congressional offices and $2,000 for lobbyists and contractors. 

Politico.com will remain free. 

nfreeman [at] observer.com | @nfreeman1234

After a summer of big name hires and a reinvigorated newsroom, the politics publication — which operates under the control of Atlantic Media owner David Bradley, in the same Washington offices as The Atlantic — will launch its online redesign on Oct. 25. While breaking news and analysis will be available to the public online, some of the new content will be blocked to all but National Journal subscribers, who pay $2,000 a year for the print and online editions. The launch date was announced in press release sent out earlier today.

The spree of journalists Fournier and his team have lured to D.C. has been quite impressive and well-reported. In September, David Carr spoke to Bradley for The New York Times about the motivation behind the refocusing of the National Journal. "About 13 months ago, I was flying back from France and began thinking about how effortlessly Politico had wedged itself into the ad market against a very strong group of incumbents," Bradley told The Times. "And I thought that required a radical rethinking of what we had been doing."

NationalJournal.com, which was previously publishing about five stories a day, will be aiming for around 100 a day after the relaunch.

nfreeman [at] observer.com | @nfreeman1234

Updated: The original headline to this post suggested that the National Journal no longer has a paywall that restricts certain content to subscribers only. The National Journal will still block some content from those not paying a subscriber's fee, and this side of the National Journal website is being enhanced along with the free side.  

Once its expansion is complete, Bloomberg Government will have 300 journalists and economic experts staffed in the nation's capital. Subscriptions will cost $5,700 a year, with government users receiving a discount.

Those who pony up for a subscription will be privy to, among other tools, vast amounts of aggregated stories, in-house analysis and research and a Congressional staff database. 

If the brash strategy works, Congressional Quarterly and National Journal — as well as places like Politico — won't be the only D.C. institutions to be endangered: lobbyists who are paid to provide government figures with this type of information may find themselves outpaced by this well-oiled hybrid of of news service and database tool.

Health care lobbyist Jean Higgens, for example, nervously joked that the service could render her job obsolete. “If I live outside Washington, this is a pretty big universe of information I pay a lobbyist to know,” she told The Times. “I guess I think at the end of the day a computer can’t take someone to Capitol Hill to meet a member of Congress. Until that happens, I think I’ll be O.K.”

Also in the More of the Same department: The National Journal hiring spree continues. Editor in chief Ron Fournier announced today that he hired political columnist Beth Reinhard away from the Miami Herald to work as his chief political correspondent. Ms. Reinhard is an "old-school story-breaker and a writer of of uncommon authority and grace," Mr. Fournier said in a release.

Newsweek Washington Web editor Michael Hirsh is joining the National Journal as a chief correspondent, covering "the critical intersection of economic policy, foreign policy, and politics," according to a release. "You can't be a big-picture, high-impact media organization without a big-picture, high-impact writer and reporter," said National Journal editor Ron Fournier.  Sure! Is it getting exhausting to think of something nice and personalized for everyone who he's hiring? We wonder.

Forbes online managing editor Carl Lavin is leaving after nearly three years, according to Joe Pompeo. Mr. Lavin follows Paul Maidment, former editor-in-chief of the website, and William Baldwin, former editor of the magazine, who have both left their posts since the arrival of chief product officer Lewis D'Vorkin at Forbes this summer. Michael Roston, who came to Forbes with Mr. D'Vorkin during the True/Slant deal is also leaving to work for The New York Times. "You can expect big things from the Forbes team," he wrote on his personal blog.

National Journal editor-in-chief Ron Fournier called Mr. Garrett the embodiment of the team he's building in Washington, "a fierce competitor on his beat, and a good and decent man."

Earlier this week, Mr. Fournier scooped up Washington veteran Matt Cooper. Mr. Cooper had very nice things to say about his new bosses — Mr. Fournier and editorial director Ron Brownstein — and so did Mr. Garrett in a release this afternoon.

"The highest compliment in this business is: 'I wish I had written that,'" said Mr. Garrett.  "I've said that more times than I can count about National Journal reporting and the work of Ron Fournier and Ron Brownstein."

"Matt Cooper joins NJG. Happy not to be competing against him any more," wrote the National Journal's new editor in chief Ron Fournier on Twitter this morning.

Mr. Cooper echoed these sentiments in the release. "[Editorial director] Ron Brownstein and Ron Fournier aren't just old friends," he said. "They're the best of the best journalists. I'm so happy to be working with them rather than competing against them.

Until two weeks ago, Mr. Cooper was working for the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission on a book about the group's findings from the economic collapse. Mike Allen wrote this morning that Mr. Cooper is a "veteran of every magazine you ever wanted to write for," inlcuding Time, Portfolio, Washington Monthly, Newsweek, The New Republic and Talking Points Memo. He has worked for a David Bradley property before as a correspondent for The Atlantic online.

Mr. Cooper does impersonations. He was called to the stand during the Scooter Libby trial in 2007 to discuss an interview with Karl Rove. He's used to this:

The National Journal also hired USA Today foreign affairs reporter Aamer Madhani who will begin next month.

David Bradley, the owner of The Atlantic and The National Journal, told the Observer back in May that he wanted his National Journal to be seen as classy alternative to Politico.  "They are going to be at the more racy, tabloid end of the spectrum," he said. "That seems to be the position they have chosen. I think we'll be more of the authoritative end."

Well, they're certainly getting the talent.

Per the press release, The National Journal also has brought in: The Wall Street Journal's Yochi Dreazen, Sue Davis and Fawn Johnson; Politico's Josh Kraushaar and Coral Davenport; Campaigns and Elections' Jeremy Jacobs.

It is a return of sorts for both reporters. Ms. Johnson and Ms. Davis are both alumnae of CongressDaily, which is part of the National Journal.

Brand new editor in chief Ron Fournier, who came over from the AP in June, said both women are "wicked smart."

"We're thrilled to have them join this fast-growing team," he said. The National Journal is in the middle of a hiring bonanza ahead of the site's relaunch in the fall.

The Journal lost private equity reporter Peter Lattman to The New York Times earlier this week. The Journal, in turn, stole a weekend coupon magazine from The Times.

Mr. Bradley is planning to relaunch the National Journal in September, dropping the paywall to compete more direclty with Politico's coverage of Washington online.

"They are going to be at the more racy, tabloid end of the spectrum,"  Mr. Bradley told The Observer in May. "That seems to be the position they have chosen. I think we'll be more of the authoritative end."

Mr. Fournier brings over 20 years of experience covering Washington to the role.

"For my ten years in media, Ron’s name has been whispered to me as in that handful of finest political reporters and editors who have worked Washington – maybe ever," Mr. Bradley said in the release.