The Center for Independent Media (CIM) is poised to launch its new Washington outpost — The Washington Independent. Allison Silver, a former editor for The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times, will be news editor. Laura McGann, formerly with TPMmuckraker, is on board as managing editor. They are attracting some significant talent.

The Center was launched in 2006 to support talented bloggers with journalism and internet training, as well as to provide logistical support. The brains behind it are David Bennahum, founding writer for Wired magazine, and Ali Savino, a former Microsoft programmer. Thus far the group has fostered four state-based news sites, Colorado Confidential, Iowa Independent, Michigan Messenger, and Minnesota Monitor. Each site operates independently, and as CIM’s website states, "the sites’ contributors do more reporting than most bloggers and are more opinionated on key local issues than most daily news reporters."

The Sunlight Foundation is proud to partner with others to support this Washington based "bureau." We’ve been making some of our cool tools available for the bloggers they are working with. We agree with CIM’s vision of citizen-driven journalism serving as a critical principle of our democracy. We have a hunch that the new enterprise it might just shake up the media establishment.