The paper is searching for “America’s Next Great Pundit”. In other words, submit an article to them and they may decide to run 13 more from you at a payout of a total of $2,600.

Aspiring pundits across the country have the chance to be “America’s Next Great Pundit” by entering The Washington Post’s political columnist competition.

Starting today The Washington Post opinions section is asking people around the country to tell us why they deserve to publish their opinions in The Washington Post and be the next Dana Milbank or Eugene Robinson. Ten contestants will be picked from among all the entrants, and then the field will by narrowed down by rounds of challenges testing the skills a modern pundit must possess. They’ll have to write on deadline, hold their own on video, and field questions from Post readers. After each round, a panel of Post personalities and reader votes will help determine who gets another chance at a byline and who has to shut down their laptop. The ultimate winner will get the opportunity to write a 13-week column that may appear in the print and/or online editions of The Washington Post.

Follow the competition or launch your career by entering online at www.washingtonpost.com/pundit.

So you have to submit an article WaPo likes and if you’re lucky you’ll get into the top ten finalists. Then you’ll have to pass tests of “skills a modern pundit must possess”, field questions from WaPo’s seven readers, and possibly — if you’re chosen by a panel — get the opportunity to write a column for 13 weeks.

Or you could set up a blog and put some ads in the sidebar. Let’s face it, if you’ve good enough to make it through all of those WaPo hurdles, you’re probably good enough to become a prominent blogger running a profitable blog. And your run will last longer than 13 weeks.

This would’ve been a novel concept 15 years ago. Apparently the Washington Post is only now catching up with the times. In today’s world two twenty-year-olds with a camera and $1,300 in savings can create a national news story, force Congress to cut off billions in funds to a major organization, and lead multiple states to launch criminal investigations into said organization.

We don’t need WaPo to get a story out any more. Especially since WaPo ignores whatever news it finds politically inconvenient and covers whatever harms those it dislikes politically. Americans don’t need a hack “news”paper to have their voices heard and make a few bucks anymore.

Via Michelle Malkin.