• by Fern Siegel , September 9, 2013

Political junkies will love the competition.

Politico has bought online political magazine Capital New York, infusing it with money and extra staffers, hoping it will hold its own against The New York Times and various Manhattan tabloids.

While financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, Politico publisher Robert Allbritton says he will give Capital New York -- the brainchild of two former New York Observer editors -- a makeover, a la Politico. The business model will be be similar to Politico's, with ads targeting key, influential readers.

The revamped effort debuts later this fall.

While Capital founders Josh Benson and Tom McGeveran will remain as co-editors, Politico cofounder and executive editor Jim VandeHei was named president of the site.

Capital will continue to target New York City and Albany, but Allbritton states that he has “very big ambitions for Capital, to do in New York what we did in Washington with Politico.”

McGeveran told Media Daily News: “More reporters means more reporting, which means more news delivered faster. It's going to become a non-discretionary read on New York politics and media.”

Capital New York averaged 250,000 uniques a month over the last six months, with a high of 500K in April, says McGeveran. But he believes that figure “will grow exponentially with more hires, more articles, more news.”

A big reason for the takeover is the chance to revamp the revenue operation, he notes. “We had gotten up on our feet revenue-wise, but this will change the game.”

The Politico Web site and newspaper launched in 2011.