In a move that will surprise absolutely no one, Andrew Sullivan has announced that his blog The Dish is leaving The Daily Beast and going independent:

...as of February 1, we will revert to our old URL - www.andrewsullivan.com. All previous URLs will automatically redirect, so don't worry about losing us. Until then, the Beast has generously agreed to keep us on so we can organize ourselves in time for the launch. In fact, Tina and Barry have been fully supportive of this decision once we made it, although we're all sad to part ways.

Here's the core principle: we want to create a place where readers - and readers alone - sustain the site. No bigger media companies will be subsidizing us; no venture capital will be sought to cushion our transition (unless my savings count as venture capital); and, most critically, no advertising will be getting in the way.

This will no doubt inspire many bloggers to consider adopting a reader-funded model. Those bloggers should remember that Andrew Sullivan is one of maybe five names that could make a reader-sustained blog financially viable.