Huffington Post's Lerer: Post "is transforming news as much as CNN did thirty years ago"
Posted by Kelley Vendeland on March 25, 2008 at 11:41 AM
In an interview with New Yorker writer Eric Alterman, Kenneth Lerer of The Huffington Post argues that "the new way [represented by the Post] of thinking about, and presenting the news, is transforming news as much as CNN did thirty years ago.'
The latest figures indicate that The Huffington Post is here to stay. Originally founded as a liberal counter to the conservative leaning Drudge Report, February figures show that the mega blog has surpassed Matt Drudge for the first time ever.
The Post has expressed an interest in the past in becoming an all-purpose online newspaper. Certainly they are expanding their capabilities and staff, but according to Alterman, the notion that the Huffington Post could replace newspapers is far fetched.
Why? For one, the site has very few original reporting resources. It lacks a sports section, and has an entertainment section that is more salacious gossip than actual critical review. And although occasional contributions offer interesting and novel insight on a particular issue, the vast majority of citizen journalism contributions "do not merit the effort of even a mouse click."
Even the Post staff itself recognizes the draw back of opening up the news to the masses. "User-generated content is all the rage, but most of it totally sucks," says Jonah Perreti, Arianna Huffington and Lerer's third partner. This has led to what's termed "the mullet strategy" in which the editors monitor the front page and do their best "to insure that only trusted bloggers and reliable news sources are posted there." Users are then allowed to "argue and vent on the secondary pages."
Huffington, Lerer, and Peretti contend that their model points towards where the news business is heading, Alterman reports. In Huffington's view, this future does not include the death of newspapers.
"I think that's ridiculous," she says. "Traditional media just need to realize that the online world isn't the enemy. In fact, it's the thing that will save them, if they fully embrace it."
Sources: The New Yorker through Howard Owens, All Things Digital
The latest figures indicate that The Huffington Post is here to stay. Originally founded as a liberal counter to the conservative leaning Drudge Report, February figures show that the mega blog has surpassed Matt Drudge for the first time ever.
The Post has expressed an interest in the past in becoming an all-purpose online newspaper. Certainly they are expanding their capabilities and staff, but according to Alterman, the notion that the Huffington Post could replace newspapers is far fetched.
Why? For one, the site has very few original reporting resources. It lacks a sports section, and has an entertainment section that is more salacious gossip than actual critical review. And although occasional contributions offer interesting and novel insight on a particular issue, the vast majority of citizen journalism contributions "do not merit the effort of even a mouse click."
Even the Post staff itself recognizes the draw back of opening up the news to the masses. "User-generated content is all the rage, but most of it totally sucks," says Jonah Perreti, Arianna Huffington and Lerer's third partner. This has led to what's termed "the mullet strategy" in which the editors monitor the front page and do their best "to insure that only trusted bloggers and reliable news sources are posted there." Users are then allowed to "argue and vent on the secondary pages."
Huffington, Lerer, and Peretti contend that their model points towards where the news business is heading, Alterman reports. In Huffington's view, this future does not include the death of newspapers.
"I think that's ridiculous," she says. "Traditional media just need to realize that the online world isn't the enemy. In fact, it's the thing that will save them, if they fully embrace it."
Sources: The New Yorker through Howard Owens, All Things Digital
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