Comments on: Can the Huffington Post obsess itself into the news cycle?

By: Martha Tompkins Wood

Martha Tompkins Wood — Thu, 05 May 2005 09:36:26 +0000

I enjoyed the article and am curious to see what Huffington will do. But I find it interesting how hostile some bloggers have been. The only thing I read that was openly supportive and encouraging from a blogger was Arianna Huffington's upcoming site I don't understand the hostility some have expressed. If it's successful it will be good for everyone. If it's not, it will fold. But something about Arianna Huffington seems to inflame a segment of people.

By: David Ehrenstein

David Ehrenstein — Thu, 05 May 2005 06:53:52 +0000

It’s a shame Arianna wasn’t able to snag Warren Beatty.

Not to mention Carrie Fisher.

By: Robert Niles

Robert Niles — Wed, 04 May 2005 21:49:17 +0000

Ultimately, the blogosphere will belong to the reporters. Cocktail party chit-chat with the rich and famous can serve as an interesting diversion, but readers, ultimately, spend their time with bloggers who deliver fresh information and perspective, backed by persuasive facts.

I hope that some of Arianna’s correspondents will use this high-profile opportunity to expose readers to some fresh reporting. Those who do, I suspect, will find an eager readership. And for those who do not, well, there’s always a cocktail party somewhere in this town.

By: Jon Garfunkel

Jon Garfunkel — Wed, 04 May 2005 20:58:08 +0000

I agree with Weldon about needing to go “beyond blogging” — I have written about that for some time now.

But I do see there’s a case of getting-what-one-wishes-for here. Many of the blogging evangelists have pressed more public personalities to blog– and now that Arianna’s rose to the challenge, some of those same evangelists are now expressing fear, uncertainty, doubt.

Yes, I agree with Robert that it belongs to “the reporters”– and I expect that the career journalists will have a little advantage over the bloggers here.

Jon

By: weldon berger

weldon berger — Wed, 04 May 2005 11:55:48 +0000

Mark, wasn’t it Arianna’s hubby who ran for Senate and came out as gay?

A few of her contributors will be worth reading regularly, but it would’ve been nice had she used her profile, contacts and money to create something new rather than just a blog on steroids. And while I admire Keith Olbermann greatly, I have to question whether he has had or Huffington’s blog will have any real impact on stories they follow “obsessively.”

What would be a real treat is to see Huffington and Cronkite participating in an effort to move the medium beyond blogging and into actual citizen – not celebrity, but citizen – journalism.

And I’ve had an “Eat the Press” category on my site for quite some while.