What ESPN, ABC Promised Nate Silver

After an intense, nearly year-long negotiation, data guru Nate Silver will be leaving The New York Times and taking his unique brand of statistical analysis to ESPN and ABC News. The Times fought to keep Silver, essentially giving him everything he asked for including a staff of six-to-12 bloggers and an assurance that he could expand into other areas beyond politics. Executive editor Jill Abramson, publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., and CEO Mark Thompson were all involved in trying to keep Silver on board at the Times, but Silver finally opted for ESPN and ABC, where he was promised extensive air time, a role in the Oscars, and websites about weather, education, economics, and other topics.