Top Wonkblog Columnist To Leave Washington Post Ezra Klein, an analyst, columnist and pundit who runs The Washington Post's Wonkblog, will leave the newspaper, taking two of his colleagues with him, according to an internal memo sent on Tuesday. Mr. Klein is "looking to start his own news organization," according to the memo, but his destination was not identified. He declined to comment on the matter when reached by email on Tuesday, but said he had not "signed anything with anyone." He has been in talks with Vox Media, among other potential backers, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions, who spoke on condition of anonymity. A spokeswoman for Vox did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. He leaves with Melissa Bell, director of platforms at The Post, according to the memo, and Dylan Matthews, who wrote for Wonkblog and started its more general sister blog, Know More. Mr. Klein, who joined The Post in 2009, quickly gained a following with a multiplatform blend of policy nuance and number-crunching on Wonkblog. He had been rebuffed in attempts to get The Post to back his venture, four people with knowledge of the negotiations said recently. He had been seeking an investment of eight figures, one of the people said. In the email Tuesday, Mr. Klein expressed gratitude to his former employer. "It's an amazing place," he wrote. It's been an incredible five years. I couldn't be prouder or more grateful to have been an employee here. The Post decided to make the announcement, said a person with knowledge of the internal discussions, to end the uncertainty caused by speculation about Mr. Klein's future. Ms. Bell, said one of the people with knowledge of the move, is widely respected within The Post for her behind-the-scenes work toward ensuring Wonkblog moved at the speed of the Internet, rather than the more leisurely pace of a print newspaper. The content management systems Ms. Bell worked on - to move words, pictures and video quickly from the newsroom to the screens of readers - are unglamorous but considered vital as journalism converges with advances in the technology used to make and view it. The Washington Post also announced on Tuesday that it had entered a partnership with the Volokh Conspiracy, a legal blog run by a University of California, Los Angeles law professor, Eugene Volokh, and will offer its content as part of the newspaper's website.