Everyone is weighing in on AOLa4ぎa4г decision to acquire The Huffington Post for $315 million. Some argue that the deal makes sense, and plenty more predict that the online-media combination will be a disaster.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the debate is how AOL and Huffington Post executives are describing the thinking behind the deal. The HuffPo, as it&'s known, has its roots as a popular, controversial, and left-leaning political blog. But in AOL chief executive Tim Armstronga4ぎa4г lengthy memo to employees, the word a4ぎApoliticsa4ぎ only comes up twice, and both times in the context of a longer list of coverage areas.
Instead of describing Huffington (who is taking control of AOLa4ぎa4г entire editorial output) as a political pundit, Armstrong said that shea4ぎa4г a4ぎAa world-renowned topic expert on womena4ぎa4г topics and issuesa4ぎ and that the her site includes a4ぎAa great focus on womena4ぎa4г content.a4ぎ This seems to fit with one of Armstronga4ぎa4г main emphases in The New Yorkera4ぎa4г profile of AOL (subscription required) from earlier this month. New Yorker reporter Ken Auletta wrote:
[Armstrong] also decided to direct more of the companya4ぎa4г focus toward women, whose interests and needs, he believes, are not well served by the rest of the Web. When AOL started redesigning its blogs, it began with the womena4ぎa4г sites, like StyleList.com, AOL Shopping, and KitchenDaily.com. Nearly sixty per cent of all visitors to [AOLa4ぎa4г local news network] Patch are women. On the company page describing its demographics for the sake of advertisers, the first two categories mentioned are a4ぎAwomena4ぎ and a4ぎAmoms.a4ぎ
That all sounds great, but critics point out that the two companies are linked less by a focus on women and more by their reputation for less-than-top-notch content. (Perhaps the most amusing criticism of AOLa4ぎa4г content came from TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington, who is an AOL employee himself &8212' he described AOL-owned Engadget as a a4ぎAplasticized caricature of a real blog.a4ぎ) Writing at The Daily Beast, the site run by Huffingtona4ぎa4г nemesis Tina Brown, Dan Lyons lays out the case that the journalism in the combined company will be mediocre and the advertising prices will remain low.
Personally, Ia4ぎa4m not sure if AOL can really turn itself around. But if Huffington cana4ぎa4д save the company, who can Aulettaa4ぎa4г largely skeptical article (his conclusion: a4ぎAAOL does not seem to be saving journalism, and journalism does not yet seem to be saving AOLa4ぎ) suggests that AOL needs someone at the top with a strong editorial vision. Whether or not you like the HuffPo, Huffington has built a site with a real brand, a massive audience, and a profitable business model.
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Companies: aol, The Huffington Post
People: Arianna Huffington, Tim Armstrong
Companies: aol, The Huffington Post
People: Arianna Huffington, Tim Armstrong
Anthony is a senior editor at VentureBeat, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining the site in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.
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