Ex-NY Gov Spitzer to write column for Slate.com

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned earlier this year over his involvement in a prostitution ring, will write a column for online magazine Slate.com about the economy and financial regulation.

The column, which will be called "The Best Policy," will appear every other week, Slate Group Editor Jacob Weisberg told Reuters in an interview.

The first column, which is appearing Wednesday evening, will deal with the financial crisis and Spitzer's opinion that the United States should not recreate financial institutions that are considered "too big to fail," Weisberg said.

Spitzer, who stepped down as governor in March during a scandal over his connection to a $1,000-an-hour prostitute, previously served as New York attorney general and became known for cracking down on financial crimes and prostitution. His nickname among many became "The Sheriff of Wall Street."

"He was the de facto national regulator of the financial industry," Weisberg said. "I think he just has a keen understanding and a shrewd perspective on those issues."

Slate, which is owned by The Washington Post Co, did not hire Spitzer because of the notoriety he gained this year over his connection to the prostitution ring.

"This is something that we would want him to write about even if he'd never been governor," Weisberg said.

Slate previously hired disgraced Wall Street analyst Henry Blodget to write for it. Blodget now runs Silicon Alley Insider, a widely read media business news blog.

David Plotz, who edits Slate.com, said Spitzer has not said whether he will write about the events leading to his resignation, but, "if he chooses to write about that in Slate, we'd be happy to publish it."

Slate approached Spitzer several months ago about the column. It would not say how much money Spitzer will get.

(Reporting by Robert MacMillan; Editing by Andre Grenon)