The Washington Post is taking a different approach to its government reporting. On Aug. 19 the Post will launch GovBeat, a site that focuses on the interaction between Washington, D.C., and state and local governments around the country. GovBeat will be led by Reid Wilson, who joins the Post from National Journal, where he was editor of Hotline. (One presumes he’ll change his Twitter handle from @HotlineReid.) Here’s the memo:

From: Marty Baron, Kevin Merida and Steven Ginsberg
To: The Washington Post Newsroom

We have a big announcement about a new venture for the Post.

On August 19, we’ll launch GovBeat, an online destination for state and local government news, with a primary focus on how actions taken in Washington play out in cities and states across the country. GovBeat will cover legislative and political trends and highlight innovative policy prescriptions, with a mix of news, analysis, charts and data. GovBeat will also engage government workers, policy makers and those involved in the business of local and state governments in an ongoing conversation about the challenges they face and how those relate to Washington.

We are excited to announce that GovBeat will be led by Reid Wilson.

Reid is joining us from National Journal, where he was most recently the editor-in-chief of Hotline. Before that, he was editor of Hotline On Call, Hotline’s political blog. He is also a former associate editor for Real Clear Politics and was a staff writer at The Hill. Reid can even put Comedy Central on his resume — last year, the network named him the “Greatest Political Mind of our Time.” A native of Seattle, Reid graduated from The George Washington University and lives in Washington with his wife, Veronica.

We are also very happy to announce that Niraj Chokshi, also of National Journal, will join us as a reporter for GovBeat.

Niraj has most recently served as a policy reporter for National Journal, where he’s covered immigration, the fiscal cliff and the transportation bill. He previously served as a morning editor in charge of NationalJournal.com and reported on technology and business for TheAtlantic.com. Niraj is a graduate of Bates College.

Reid and Niraj will be responsible for GovBeat, but we will also look to feature contributions that come from the local and national political staffs. GovBeat will also have a presence on PostTV.

The Post also recently announced a new tech policy blog.