MSNBC + TMZ = BLTWY?
BermanBraun and MSNBC announced Wednesday morning that they are teaming up for a new site called BLTWY that will focus on the "celebrity side of politics." In other words, coverage of sex scandals, Washington fashion and plenty of Palins.
BLTWY's content comes from its own editorial team and the MSNBC Digital Network. The image-centric site was designed by BermanBraun.
MSNBC and BermanBraun previously partnered together to launch the Hollywood gossip site Wonderwall in 2009. BLTWY's design is quite similar to that site as well as BermanBraun's previous venture with Yahoo, omg!.
BermanBraun is a partnership between former Paramount Pictures President Gail Berman and ex-ABC chairman Lloyd Braun that started in early 2007.
Charlie Tillinghast, president of MSNBC's digital network said he expects BLTWY to satisfy "the growing appetite for lifestyle news about the political arena.”
The main article currently on BLTWY's front page is a super classy Monica Lewinsky update entitled "Where's Monica Now?" There is also a set of pictures of "tender moments" shared between the Obamas, a feature called "Palin Watch" and an entirely separate post on Levi Johnston's new music video.
BLTWY mines the same territory as Click, a similar site launched by Politico, but MSNBC has the added advantage of being able to promote its new site on a cable news platform. Time will tell if D.C. can support multiple sites that are more LOL than GOP or DNC. There's certainly enough gossip to go around.
