WashingtonPost.com, ever at the forefront of all (web) things risky and bold, has contracted with Inform to start linking out to other newspapers and blogs contextually.

The New York Times has the story, and mentions that The New York Sun and The Daily Oklahoman will be joining in the deal.

The Times claims that it is less an effort to reach out to other papers than any effort to fight off aggregators like Google News and that product’s Yahoo! counterpart …

Which are now getting paid by those aggregators:

“Recently completed deals, which include arrangements in which media organizations such as the Associated Press will be compensated on a pay-per-click basis, could herald a major shift in the relationship between the old media and new Internet gatekeepers.”San Jose Mercury News