I knew that the industry for ink-stained wretches was changing - dramatically - but I had no idea that some of the top investigators are leaving to do private investigations.

Sue Schmidt at the Wall Street Journal and her colleague Greg Schmidt bailed today.

"..Wall Street Journal reporters Sue Schmidt and Glenn Simpson are leaving the paper to launch a new company where they’ll do investigative work for private clients.

In addition to the new company, SNS Global LLC, the two top journalists will also be affiliated with the International Assessment and Strategy Center, a non-profit foundation focused on security issues. (Former Washington Post investigative reporter Douglas Farah, who’d covered the Columbian drug war and African blood diamonds, is also at the IASC).

Schmidt, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who only joined the paper last year from the Post, told POLITICO that she and Simpson are “sort of shifting gears.” However, she said, they’ll still be investigating areas they covered while doing traditional journalism—everything from counter-terrorism to international organized crime."