The Huffington Post
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| The Huffington Post | |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Founder | Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, USA |
| Key people | Arianna Huffington |
| Owner | Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer |
| Slogan | The Internet Newspaper: News Blogs Video Community |
| Website | huffingtonpost.com |
| Type of site | Blogging |
| Registration | Optional |
| Available in | English, German, Spanish |
| Launched | 2005 |
| Current status | Active |
The Huffington Post (often referred to on the Internet as HuffPo or HuffPost) is a liberal[citation needed] online news website and aggregated weblog founded by Arianna Huffington and Kenneth Lerer, featuring hyperlinks to various news sources and columnists. The Huffington Post was launched on May 9, 2005 as a news and commentary outlet. Its roster of bloggers includes many people from Arianna Huffington's extensive network of prominent "friends." It is ranked the most linked-to blog by Technorati [1] and the most visited news weblog by Alexa Internet[2], and the most influential blog in the world by The Guardian.
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[edit] Contributors
In addition to regular (often daily) columns by Huffington and a core group of contributors (such as Harry Shearer and John Conyers) and Roy Sekoff, Founding Editor, the HuffPost has featured notable celebrity contributors from politics, journalism, business, and entertainment (Norman Mailer, John Cusack, and Bill Maher, to name a few), as well as other relative unknowns. Because of the prominence and access of its contributors, the HuffPost regularly publishes scoops of current news stories, otherwise providing links to selected prominent news stories, providing a left-of-center counterpoint to the link-heavy style of The Drudge Report. Compared to other left-wing blogs such as the expertise-heavy Znet or the long-established Daily Kos, the HuffPost draws a balance between hard news commentary and coverage, popular culture and celebrity opinion features. It is also known for the wide range of opinions expressed by members of the public who are encouraged to comment on the original articles. The comment section is home to discussions on politics, religion, topical events, world affairs, cultural and social matters.
A comprehensive list of contributors to the The Huffington Post blog can be found in its alphabetical Bloggers Index.
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Among the celebrity or otherwise-prominent bloggers are:
Politics and non-profit:
Performing arts and broadcasting:
Advance publicity announced forthcoming articles from:
[edit] Investment
In August 2006, it was announced that Softbank Capital would invest $5 million in the online news site, which has grown dramatically popular in only a year, to help expand it. Plans include hiring more staff to update the site 24 hours a day, hiring in-house reporters, and a multimedia team to do video reports. Alan Patricof's Greycroft Partners also invested. The news marks the site's first "first round of venture capital funding."[3]
The site now has invested in Vlogging, or video blogging, with many of the site contributors contributing via video, and capturing clips in the media and posting them on the site.
[edit] Awards
The Huffington Post won the 2006 Webby Awards for Best Political Blog.
Arianna Huffington was selected to the Time 100 list recognizing the 100 most influential people.[4]
Huffington Post contributor Bennet Kelley was awarded the Los Angeles Press Club's 2007 Southern California Journalism Award for Online Commentary[5] for political commentary published on the site.[6]
[edit] Criticism
Fox News television anchor Bill O'Reilly, as well as conservative media watchdog MRC, have brought attention to the Huffington Post hosting controversial statements on its blogs, and Arianna Huffington's initial refusal to remove them. Some examples include various independent authors sharply criticizing Americans supportive of the War in Iraq, accusing Dick Cheney of terrorizing enemies abroad and innocent citizens at home, and criticizing the Bush administration for indiscriminate spending.[7]
Perhaps the most controversial comments were exposed in mid-February 2008, after former First Lady Nancy Reagan fell at her California home.[8] Bloggers on the Post repeatedly made comments about the 86 year old former first lady suffering in her home and wishing her death.[8] Arianna Huffington responded, arguing that any crude or hateful comments are not tolerated and are taken down as soon as they come to the attention of the site's moderators.[9] However, the comments in question had remained on the site for a week, and were only taken down after Bill O'Reilly addressed the issue on his show.[citation needed]
[edit] External links
- The Huffington Post website
- First-week index
- The Guardian: Uber-blog raises a celebrity voice
- Huffington Post Censures Investigative Reporter
[edit] Notes
- ^ Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post on Technorati
- ^ Alexa - Sites in: Weblogs
- ^ Softbank Capital invests $5 mln in Huffington Post, Reuters, August 7, 2006, accessed October 18, 2006
- ^ The Time 100 : Arianna Huffington, TIME, April 30, 2006, accessed October 18, 2006
- ^ 49th Southern California Journalism Award Winners
- ^ Huffington Post page for Bennet Kelley.
- ^ Huffington’s House of Horrors
- ^ a b O'Reilly, Bill (February 21, 2008). Hate Speech and the 'Net. BillOReilly.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-04.
- ^ O'Reilly Needs to Enroll in "Understanding the Internet 101"
