Felix Dennis has just purchased The First Post, a British publication that reads roughly as their analogue of Slate. Notable First Post contributors include Alexander Cockburn, historian Niall Ferguson, military author Edward Luttwak, ex-WSJer Damien McElroy and investigative journalist Greg Palast.

The purchase is expected to complement The Week, published by Dennis Publishing in the UK and The Week Publications in the States.

Press release after the jump.

New York City/London, (January 9, 2008) -- Dennis Publishing today announces the acquisition of online daily current affairs magazine www.thefirstpost.co.uk.

Currently owned by First Post Newsgroup Holdings Ltd, backed by private investors, Dennis Publishing has acquired the website to expand its current affairs portfolio. This site will complement Dennis Publishing's highly successful newsstand and subscription magazine, The Week, which is published both in the US and the UK. In the US, The Week has snowballed through eight consecutive periods of circulation growth as audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

The Week is published in the US by The Week Publications, Inc.

Launched in 2005, www.thefirstpost.co.uk reaches over one million unique users every month and distinguishes itself from other current affairs sites by independently commissioning all articles and content and presenting them in a unique manner, with compelling pictures and innovative illustrations. The website distributes daily email newsletters to subscribers and is free to access.

The First Post website will be headed up by Kerin O'Connor, Executive Director at Dennis Publishing in the UK and Pete Wootton, Managing Director of Dennis Interactive. The current team of twelve, including Chief Editor Mark Law, will all be taken on as Dennis employees.

James Tye, CEO at Dennis Publishing in the UK said: "This is the ideal next step to allow Dennis to grow in an area of publishing where we have enjoyed so much success to date. An online current affairs property is the perfect complement to The Week for our advertisers and the www.thefirstpost.co.uk will also be invaluable for widening the subscription audience of the title, both here and in the US. It also underlines our commitment to be a true 21st century publisher, reaching audiences whatever the platform."

"The First Post opens the door even wider for The Week to connect with audiences both nationally and internationally," says The Week's general manager in the US, Steven Kotok. "Intelligent readers everywhere hunger for lively discourse on local and global topics, making this an ideal match for The Week's US print magazine and daily web site."

Mike Turner, Non-Executive Chairman of First Post News Group Ltd said: "We are delighted to have found such a good home for The First Post. The current team have done a terrific job in making the publication the success that it is today, and we all very much look forward to building on that success under the ownership and direction of Dennis Publishing."

Mark Law, the founding Editor of The First Post, said, "This is a crucial stage in the commercial and editorial development of The First Post. The site will now have access to the marketing resources of a large publishing company. Moreover, The Week and The First Post are natural stablemates."