Early and Often

The Chicago News Cooperative has made a move. After months spent quietly building an impressive staff that had little to show for itself beyond the four pages a week in the New York Times - it's been cranking those out since last November - CNC unfurled a new website, a new product, and a new revenue stream.

Earlyandoften.org is the site and it's promising "Chicago's best political news" - though at a price. "Every weekday get unmatched coverage of the 2011 Chicago mayoral campaign, aldermanic races and the city treasurer and clerk contests - right through the April 5 run-offs," the site promises. A subscription costs $150, but $175 after October 18. is promising original reporting - though at this early stage you might already have read a lot of it in the Times - and an "aggregation of mainstream, neighborhood and blog news articles, broken out by ward."