{"id":3829,"date":"2011-02-07T17:22:46","date_gmt":"2011-02-08T01:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3829"},"modified":"2011-02-07T17:22:46","modified_gmt":"2011-02-08T01:22:46","slug":"on-aol-acquiring-huffington-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3829","title":{"rendered":"On AOL Acquiring Huffington Post"},"content":{"rendered":"

The announcement last night that Huffington Post is being bought by AOL<\/a> has already generated a cyber-boatload of analysis, criticism, and speculation – mostly speculation.<\/p>\n

I have long had an ambivalent view of HuffPo. While it gives opportunities to some progressives voices who are often shut out of the broader media, it also hosts some reactionary conservatives whose views are unproductive and dishonest. They have also taken a lot of heat for their gossipy celebrity content which I simply ignore.<\/p>\n

AOL, although independent from TimeWarner for a little over a year, is still a giant corporation with many of the same principals and shareholders as prior to the separation. And therein lies my pessimism about the future of the HuffPo\/AOL alliance.<\/p>\n

The last thing independent media needs is more consolidation. By forming ever larger organizations, they fall into the same traps that Big Media always face. Their business mission ends up suppressing whatever aspirations they have for incisive journalism. They pander to advertisers and seek out stories that titillate rather than educate.<\/p>\n

Arianna Huffington is predictably excited about the new arrangement. Why wouldn’t she be? The deal puts a value of over $300 million on her six year old venture. And she will become the head of all of AOL’s media properties. But she should be careful. She is also going to have a board of directors to which she will have to answer. And the obligation to appeal to a much broader audience could result in a dilution of any personality. Like other big news enterprises, she will have to cater to the lowest common denominator.<\/p>\n

That’s why independence in the media is so precious. It allows for diversity of opinion and is the single best way to produce reporting that challenges the status quo, rattles societies gatekeepers, and enhances accountability. Those are the things we lose as media enterprises get more bloated and reliant on corporate infrastructure.<\/p>\n

The combined AOL\/HuffPo is still not as big as Fox or Comcast\/NBC, and if they struggle mightily they may be able retain some independent identity. But on the whole this is not a promising development, and it is contrary to the direction that media should be heading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The announcement last night that Huffington Post is being bought by AOL has already generated a cyber-boatload of analysis, criticism, and speculation – mostly speculation. I have long had an ambivalent view of HuffPo. While it gives opportunities to some progressives voices who are often shut out of the broader media, it also hosts some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,4],"tags":[863,528,498],"class_list":["post-3829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-news","tag-aol","tag-arianna-huffington","tag-huffington-post"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-ZL","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6094,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=6094","url_meta":{"origin":3829,"position":0},"title":"Fox News: The Most Powerful Propagandist Since Goebbels","author":"Mark NC","date":"1\/1\/2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Fox News waited until the last day of 2011 to publish the most absurdly hyperbolic piece of journalistic comedy\/trash of the year. And that's a high bar for Fox. Dan Gainor is a VP for the Media Research Center, an ultra-conservative operation that exists to bash Democrats and advance the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1277,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1277","url_meta":{"origin":3829,"position":1},"title":"Huffington Post: A Tool For The GOP?","author":"Mark NC","date":"5\/23\/2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Michael Calderone has a column at Politico that suggests a new tactical approach by Republicans to get their message out. He asserts, that the GOP is exploiting the broad reach of the Huffington Post to expand their media presence. It's not a particularly bad idea as HuffPo is cracking 8.8\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1383,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1383","url_meta":{"origin":3829,"position":2},"title":"Rupert Murdoch Says 9\/11 Is Bullshit And Should Be Forgotten","author":"Mark NC","date":"8\/28\/2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The faux patriots at Fox Nation are making a habit of exploiting the image of 9\/11 and contriving false and negative associations with Democrats. Last week the Fox Nationalists published an article accusing President Obama of desecrating the memory of 9\/11 because he supported a National Day of Service to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1232,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1232","url_meta":{"origin":3829,"position":3},"title":"The Fox Nation Launches A Dud","author":"Mark NC","date":"3\/30\/2009","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning there was a disturbance in the Force. The Fox Nation debuted amidst fanfare and the gnashing of teeth at tea parties everywhere. However, reports of the Fox News secession movement appear to have been a little overblown (by me, mostly). The reality of the Fox Nation is significantly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Media"","block_context":{"text":"Big Media","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":639,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=639","url_meta":{"origin":3829,"position":4},"title":"Huffington Post Treading On Drudge Territory","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/10\/2007","format":false,"excerpt":"An article on the Huffington Post seems to be reaching into the tabloid press for guidance on journalistic practice. The author, Sam Stein, a recent Dartmouth graduate, has compiled a catalog of innuendo so flimsy it's inconceivable that any seasoned editor would allow it to be published. Unfortunately, the editors\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3832,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3832","url_meta":{"origin":3829,"position":5},"title":"Keith Olbermann Warming Up To Al Gore? [Update] YES!","author":"Mark NC","date":"2\/8\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"A press release this afternoon revealed that Keith Olbermann would be announcing his next career move Tuesday morning in a conference call with the press. That release served as the starters pistol for a pack of media dogs to try to figure out what was up before the appointed time.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3829"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3831,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3829\/revisions\/3831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}