Ed Morrissey has announced that he’s mothballing Captain’s Quarters and joining Michelle Malkin’s team at Hot Air. He’ll be replacing Bryan Preston, who has left to take a position as a producer for Laura Ingraham.
It’s an interesting move and certainly strengthens the Hot Air brand. I can’t remember the last time a blogger of Ed’s stature closed his own shop to join a group blog.
Morrissey’s tone is much more moderate than Malkin’s but they’ve both assured readers that Ed’s writing style and freedom to state his own views will remain unchanged.
UPDATE: Jimmie @ Sundries Shack laments the homogenization and consolidation of the blogosphere. I’m not sure that we’ll see that here as the advantage of adding Ed’s voice to the site is that he’s already a brand name in his own right. But I must admit that I’m surprised Ed would shut down his own site to join another; the offer must have been pretty sweet.
It makes perfect sense for bloggers with relatively small audiences to band together and gain the advantages of network effects. That’s especially true for those whose day jobs keep them from posting with the frequency required to build a large following. But, certainly, Ed didn’t have that issue.
