Sinking ship Portfolio has one less expensive contract to worry about. Matt Cooper, formerly the D.C. bureau chief of Time, has joined web outfit Talking Points Memo.

Cooper, who joined Portfolio in 2006, was one of the the business magazine staffers who was made a contract writer when they cut costs last year. He writes in his welcome post that he'll "continue to write for Conde Nast Portfolio, where I'm a contributing editor, as well as its website, and other publications."

Cooper's reporting for Time got him caught up in the scandal which brought down Scooter Libby, the Dick Cheney aide accused of outing CIA agent Valerie Plame. He was a high-profile hire for Portfolio, establishing the magazine's breadth of ambition; his departure, after the slashing of the magazine's Web staff, now signals a contraction. As Portfolio sinks, weighed down by the expenses of print, TPM rises.