The WaPo-Newsweek consortium is publishing a new Web mag, The Root, aimed at black readers:

The Root is a daily online magazine that provides thought-provoking commentary on today’s news from a variety of black perspectives. The site also hosts an interactive genealogical section to trace one’s ancestry through AfricanDNA.com, a DNA testing site co-founded by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who is also The Root’s Editor-In-Chief. The Root aims to be an unprecedented departure from traditional American journalism, raising the profile of black voices in mainstream media and engaging anyone interested in black culture around the world. The Root is published by Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive.

Sample headline: “The real prize: Why Obama’s wife makes me love him more.” Awww. The article itself could not be more obsequious on the subject of why she “loves” Obama:

His cleareyed intelligence, for one thing. His broad and nonparochial perspective of the world. His preparation, his education, his politics. I like that Obama forwent a lucrative career in corporate America to work with the folks in Chicago. I even like the fact that the man can write, and I mean write, although as a writer who struggles daily to do the work, I kind of hate that too: this talented dabbler, this massively successful dilettante.

Read it for yourself if you must, but don’t blame me if you suffer a diabetic spike.