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AOL Buys Huffington Post

In the odd couplings department, AOL has just paid $315 million for The Huffington Post. It's more like a merger, and the whole shebang will be run by Arianna Huffington.

The arrangement will give her oversight not only of AOL’s national, local and financial news operations, but also of the company’s other media enterprises like MapQuest and Moviefone.

I actually like the idea, but then, I'm one of the few people I know who still uses an AOL e-mail account. So aside from the merger reassuring me that AOL isn't going out of business anytime soon, what does it mean for the news, other than a behomoth conglomerate? [More...]

As far as news goes, there will be more of it. Arianna writes there are five things she wants to "double down" on:

...major expansion of local sections; the launch of international Huffington Post sections (beginning with HuffPost Brazil); more emphasis on the growing importance of service and giving back in our lives; much more original video; and additional sections that would fill in some of the gaps in what we are offering our readers, including cars, music, games, and underserved minority communities.

...By combining HuffPost with AOL's network of sites, thriving video initiative, local focus, and international reach, we know we'll be creating a company that can have an enormous impact, reaching a global audience on every imaginable platform.

Huffington Post has been acquiring a lot of writers from publications like the NY Times and Newsweek, so this will be a strength to AOL's news content.

One thing that Huffpo and AOL see as a strength, because of its potential for ad dollars, that I think of as a negative from a reader's point of view is the effect on comments:

One of The Huffington Post’s strengths has been creating an online community of readers with tens of millions of people. Their ability to leave comments on Huffington Post news articles and blog posts and to share them on Twitter and Facebook has been a major reason the site attracts so many readers. It is routine for articles to draw thousands of comments each and be cross-linked across multiple social networks.

I don't see the value of commenting or getting into a discussion with such a large group of strangers. Maybe that's one of the few things that independent blogs can still do -- sustain a constant and familiar commenter base, where it's kind of like going to the neighborhood bar, as opposed to a football stadium.

On a related note, I think one reason people choose a particular blog to read and comment on is not because it is the first source of news on a particular story, but because it selectively chooses from among the many MSM versions, linking to the ones that are most informative or contain the most reliable details, and then offers either its own quick take or detailed analysis, in a way that stimulates thoughtful discussion. Who has time to sift through 400 comments?

So while I think the merger is good because it promises to offer fresh reporting as well as aggregation, on a lot of topics, in one place, I also thing there are downsides.

The one place I'm fearful they will muck it up is with the ads. Ad revenue seems to be a big reason AOL was willing to pay $300 plus million for HuffPo.

Ads on all MSM sites have become larger and more intrusive recently. No one wants to saarch for the "x" or "close" box on the ad to get to the article. Ads shouldn't cover content. They need to put the ads on the top, sides and bottom of the news, and leave the rest of the page alone.

But even that's not as bad as automatically playing video. As I've written before, that is the worst kind of intrusion and assault. I won't even click on an ABC news article because of it. Advertise if you must, but don't force us to watch commercials and video unless we click on the button to make it start playing.

In any event, I'm looking forward to the changes at AOL and HuffPo. Arianna is very savvy, she knows how to draw talent and she has her pulse on what news-hungry readers want to read. Whether that formula will work for the masses is another question, and we'll just have to wait and see.

Update: I usually access AOL through the mail page, but check out its home page. There are hardly any ads and they are unobtrusive. I hope it stays that way.

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  • Display: Sort:
    Totally with you (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by andgarden on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 12:33:53 AM EST
    on the neighborhood bar comparison. Oh, and the video ads.

    I wonder what's going on with the Daou suit?

    HuffPo was the first political newsblog I read (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by shoephone on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 12:52:16 AM EST
    That was back in the summer of '05. I hung with it for awhile, then it started getting too big, and I gravitated towards smaller, more niche-oriented blogs with smarter/more interesting commenters.

    The main reason I abhor HuffPo now is that it is so inundated with ads and other junk, the site slows down (and on occasion even freezes) my computer.

    But my big gripe with their journalistic model is that Arianna is, indeed, seducing writers from other big name media companies (NYT, Newsweek) instead of creating a reliable bevy of young, hungry, and equally as talented journalists. I want to say, "C'mon Arianna, quit going for the cocktail circuit guys and hire on some new writers," but with this merger, I'm afraid it's going to be all big-name cocktail weenies all the time.

    Ditto... (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by kdog on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 08:03:17 AM EST
    Huffington Post = Ctrl-Alt-Del on my pc, haven't even tried to visit in a long time.

    Parent
    Ditto, 2 (none / 0) (#17)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 11:27:18 AM EST
    CommieCast buys MSNBM and now this, I give Arianna a year or two before her masters run her out and convert that 'merger', into a CNN agenda driven e-rag.

    And Comcast, half their news section headline are linked to Fox News.  I am positive they are laying in wait until the election cycle gets steam and start hiring pro-message people and leaving people like Keith and Rachael in the dust.  Keith's already made the cut.

    I just hope the little guys/ladies hold their ground and leave me with the place to hang my hat.  I like posting and getting replies by known people.  I hate posting, checking back in 5 mins and 100 posts have hit, not one mentioning mine.

    That being said, many millions isn't exactly something most people walk away from, I understand it, but doesn't mean I like it.

    Talk Left, you have remained true, there is not another site that covers crime and law in regards to politics at a level I understand and appreciate.  And most importantly, that I agree with for the most part.

    Parent

    thank you (none / 0) (#43)
    by Jeralyn on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 10:38:29 PM EST
    comments like the last paragraph of yours are a major reason I keep the site going.

    Parent
    I left them (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by mexboy on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 03:56:18 AM EST
    in the primaries, when they deleted all of my posts, and I mean every single one of them in every topic, because I was critical of some of the positions of their chosen candidate for the presidency. I found the censorship sickening and I left them...in retrospect I was right to question those positions!

    The funny thing is, they kept me as a member so they can inflate their membership. I never went back and will never willingly give them a single click. It's just business for them as far as I'm concerned.


    Agreed (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by markpkessinger on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 05:37:51 AM EST
    It's one thing to block trolling, but HuffPo has become obsessive about controlling even the discussion that occurs, as it were, "within the family."  I think that for any site that calls itself "progressive" or even "liberal," it is self-contradictory to harbor such a need to control the conversation even among fellow progressives/liberals.

    Parent
    I salute you (none / 0) (#18)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 11:34:19 AM EST
    for being honest about the reason

    Parent
    The new site will be called... (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by Dadler on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 09:35:22 AM EST
    ...AOL Huffinstuff.  Sid and Marty Kroft's old team will drop acid and redesign the graphics.  "We can't do a little because we can't do enough!"

    Well, that's some nice (5.00 / 2) (#14)
    by Anne on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 10:32:37 AM EST
    payday for Arianna; wonder if she'll share any of it with the contributors who helped get her to this point.

    I don't read at HuffPo anymore, unless someone links to a particular article there; to me, it's gotten to the point where it is like buying the annual Vogue fashion issue that is the size of the Manhattan phone book, and trying to find the one article you want amidst all the ads.

    Here's the thing: I don't necessarily think any blog has to be small to have credibility, and I get that it's probably impossible to make a living off of blogging unless you have some other source of income that allows you to be ad-free; but for the life of me I don't know how one can speak any kind of truth to power using the same old voices from the same old mainstream media outlets - and selling out to AOL isn't going to turn HuffPo into a breath of fresh air as much as it's going to give wider distribution and create more opportunities for more Villagers.  It may help kill what's left of traditional media, but to what end?

    Arianna wanted to have a voice, to have a blog that was a force to be reckoned with; does she really have what she wanted when she started?  Is she competing with traditional media and losing her mission, or has the mission changed?  Is HuffPo speaking truth to power or propagandizing from a different platform?

    She certainly has the right - as does anyone who blogs - to decide what her point of view will be, what will be tolerated and what will not, and those who don't like it will go elsewhere; when you begin to turn your efforts into a cash machine, though, the less you care about what your readers think, as long as the money's still rolling in.

    As a business, HuffPo has become quite successful, but has Arianna been as successful in keeping it guided by the principles by which she founded it?  Maybe I shouldn't have an opinion, given that I so rarely go there, but maybe that, in itself, says something.


    Arianna.... (5.00 / 3) (#16)
    by Stellaaa on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 11:04:36 AM EST
    Don't know, don't quite trust her.  Classic opportunist.  Stopped reading that rag ages ago.  Sadly many liberals get their news from there.  Yuck.  

    Last time I clicked a link that took (none / 0) (#41)
    by Inspector Gadget on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 06:00:30 PM EST
    me to HuffPo it appeared commenters needed to login via their Facebook page? It was confusing and another reason why I won't go back there. Now I'll be shutting down my AOL mail address.

    Parent
    unpaid writers (none / 0) (#3)
    by dandelion on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 12:57:11 AM EST
    how nice for Arianna.  But she built that site on the backs of unpaid writers.  NOW she's acquiring writers that she pays.  But the Mayhill Fowlers, for example, never received a dime in compensation.  I don't see how that's anything but exploitation of labor.

    I (none / 0) (#33)
    by lentinel on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 03:05:48 PM EST
    guess she pays Fineman.

    Everybody's uncle with an opinion.

    Parent

    The "commenting experience" on HuffPo (none / 0) (#4)
    by markpkessinger on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 03:40:43 AM EST
    One of The Huffington Post's strengths has been creating an online community of readers with tens of millions of people. Their ability to leave comments on Huffington Post news articles and blog posts and to share them on Twitter and Facebook has been a major reason the site attracts so many readers.

    I've been a regular reader/commenter on Huffington Post for close to three years. Over the past year or so, the experience of participating in discussions via commenting has become increasingly less enjoyable, owing to over-zealous moderation/censorship.  HuffPo's stated policy on moderating comments seems reasonable enough.  But depending on the moderator, often times perfectly reasonable discussions or posts -- and not merely those of trolls -- get blocked for no apparent reason other than that the moderator doesn't want a particular comment to appear.

    Certainly, in my case, it has had the effect of making me less interested in commenting, because to spend time and effort to write something that will contribute to the discussion, and to write it respectfully and thoughtfully, only to have it arbitrarily blocked is simply not a terribly rewarding experience.

    Another (5.00 / 1) (#32)
    by lentinel on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 03:04:47 PM EST
    obvious phenomenon is the packing of the comments sections on anything to do with Obama with what are obviously paid hacks.
    Their function is to insult, without responding to content, anyone or anything that is remotely critical of "the one".

    There is no flow.
    No discussion.

    They say hello to each other.
    They clog the threads.
    Then they say goodnight to each other.
    Then the next shift appears and the pattern repeats itself.


    Parent

    "obviously paid hacks" (none / 0) (#34)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 03:10:40 PM EST
    obviously.

    probably the same ones that commented here.
    like me.

    Parent

    Hope it's a good living (5.00 / 1) (#35)
    by jbindc on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 03:18:17 PM EST
    How'd you get that gig, anyhow?

    Parent
    casting (5.00 / 1) (#36)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 03:20:28 PM EST
    couch.

    ;-)


    Parent

    Nice (5.00 / 1) (#37)
    by jbindc on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 03:33:48 PM EST
    The audition tapes available online?

    Parent
    You? (none / 0) (#38)
    by lentinel on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 03:43:36 PM EST
    Wha?

    Parent
    yes me (none / 0) (#39)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 03:49:45 PM EST
    I have been accused of being a paid commenter many times here.

    if only

    I would be so freaking rich.


    Parent

    Well... (none / 0) (#40)
    by lentinel on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 05:06:59 PM EST
    you don't fit the profile I outlined above.

    On the occasions on which we have disagreed, you have stated what you believed to be the case.

    The people I am referring to on Huffpo respond by insulting the people with whom they disagree - without offering any opinion on the topic at hand whatsoever.

    On the other hand - if someone says something like, "I love my president, we're so lucky, he's so wise..." etc... they get a pat on the back. Again, no added commentary, just a salutation and commendation. It is a repeating pattern and the people doing it appear like clockwork at their appointed hours.

    They have every appearance of being shills.
    You do not. Not at all.

    Parent

    heh (none / 0) (#9)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 08:17:54 AM EST
    the only people I know who still use it call it GAY-OL.

    "Mother of God, is this the end (none / 0) (#13)
    by Harry Saxon on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 09:56:52 AM EST
    of PopEater?"

    no, but (5.00 / 1) (#44)
    by Jeralyn on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 10:40:15 PM EST
    Arianna apparently will have control of it also. Hopefully, she'll improve it. TMZ needs some competition.

    Parent
    I've stopped going to the Huffpo site directly (none / 0) (#15)
    by ruffian on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 10:38:22 AM EST
    because it seems too disorganized and ad-clogged, but their free iApps aren't bad, so I do use them. I think they may have a paid ad-free version that is tempting but I don't use it enough to make that worthwhile.

    I wish Arianna herself still did more of the writing. If she is, it is not as easy to find. I think the overall experience just seems to lack an organizing principle.

    It could be the beginning (none / 0) (#19)
    by inclusiveheart on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 12:23:33 PM EST
    of something really interesting and "successful" or it could be another "AOL merger story".  Hard to say.  Ariana probably has done well out of the deal regardless of the success going forward.

    I think HuffPo is alright - I read it - I agree with others who say that it is difficult to figure out their organizing principle where it comes to finding articles or content I might want - but all of that aside - I am glad to see an investment in a more liberal media outlet as so many others are just becoming more conservative.

    On Saturday, HuffPo posted a fairly interesting and somewhat stunning AP story about Kenneth Fineberg and the BP fund he is administering on the front page while the Washington Post buried it as a short blurb in a political blog section.  I think that their editors have some good moments - like that one.

    Yes, I do wonder (none / 0) (#20)
    by Zorba on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 12:36:47 PM EST
    if it will be successful.  The AOL merger with Time-Warner didn't work out too well.  We'll see about this one.  I rarely read HuffPo any more myself, unless I'm on another site that links to a HuffPo article.  And I haven't commented there in years.  

    Parent
    Commenting there is useless. (5.00 / 2) (#21)
    by inclusiveheart on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 12:46:26 PM EST
    It isn't a "community" in my opinion.  It is an online newspaper and op-ed outlet that allows comments on every article which doesn't make for much of a community - just for more random noise.

    But they do make editorial choices in stories that they run that I think are good from time to time - and they do feature a lot more liberal thinkers than most outlets.  I sort of think of it as more of a clearinghouse of news items than as a source for definitive information.  But that's how I view most of the bigger websites - flagging stories to watch - not necessarily providing the full content and context that requires more research and active information-gathering on the part of the reader.

    Parent

    its a (5.00 / 1) (#23)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 12:48:35 PM EST
    "flash/whats hot now" site.
    and a good one.  I wish Ms Arianna the best of luck.


    Parent
    AOL-Time-Warner merger (none / 0) (#42)
    by BackFromOhio on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 07:06:34 PM EST
    took place just in time for the dot.com bust.

    On another note, I'm wondering if the Huffpo deal will give it access to enough capital to launch a cable TV network?


    Parent

    even al jazzera (none / 0) (#22)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 12:47:27 PM EST
    is talking about this.  they seem to think its a pretty big deal.

    Has Al Jazeera covered the Super Bowl (none / 0) (#24)
    by oculus on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 01:08:47 PM EST
    halftime museum yet?  I just tuned in.

    Parent
    Oops. Hearing about sign. of the square (none / 0) (#25)
    by oculus on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 01:09:23 PM EST
    in Cairo!

    Parent
    yeah (none / 0) (#26)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 01:31:42 PM EST
    not all Cairo all the time but still on it more than anyone else.

    al jazzera was the first news organization Mubarak went after.  that should tell you something.

    Parent

    It's closer? (none / 0) (#27)
    by jbindc on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 01:56:52 PM EST
    closer than what (none / 0) (#28)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 02:04:58 PM EST
    they all have offices in Cairo

    Parent
    Based in Qatar (none / 0) (#29)
    by jbindc on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 02:30:06 PM EST
    And owned by Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer al-Thani (Qatar Media Corporation), so it's a state-run network.  There's not a lot of love lost between the Sheikh and Mubarak, so that would make it a better "first target" of Mubarak than an American channel possibly. Seems logical Mubarak would shut down the airwaves of someone he doesn't necessarily get along with well, as opposed to a network from a country where he gets billions of dollars from.

    Just sayin'.....

    Parent

    what made them a target (none / 0) (#30)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 02:38:35 PM EST
    was their singularly excellent reporting.

    Parent
    Not mutually exclusive (none / 0) (#31)
    by jbindc on Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 02:58:47 PM EST
    WSWS: So much for "progressive" media (none / 0) (#45)
    by Andreas on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 12:02:05 AM EST