AOL Axes 900 on Heels of HuffPo Buy

Freelancer Jonathan Tasini brings suit, claims 'implied' compensation

(NEWSER) - Freelance writer Jonathan Tasini has filed a class-action lawsuit against the Huffington Post/AOL, seeking $105 million in damages for the hundreds of unpaid bloggers toiling for the site. Tasini tells the Washington Post that there was an “implied promise” of compensation for those writers. “Some people were given some promises about future payments,” he said, without elaborating. He’s also accusing Arianna Huffington and the site’s other owners of “unjust enrichment” for building their business on unpaid labor. More»

Writers organizing electronic strike against liberal mogul

(NEWSER) - The new Arianna Huffington-run AOL news operation has fired scores of AOL business and finance freelancers, and is offering them the opportunity to work again—for free, according to reports from contributors. The popular liberal's controversial labor practices are triggering another uproar over AOL's multi-million-dollar acquisition of the Huffington Post, and have already spurred calls by journalists and union leaders for an "electronic" strike . Some of the canned freelancers are being offered staff jobs in the new operation, which is headed by Huffington, though numbers have not been revealed. All others have been told they can continue to write for free, reports the Business Insider . More»

$315M deal leaves unpaid contributors out in cold

(NEWSER) - The Huffington Post's sale to AOL for $315 million —and the estimated $18 million to $100 million Arianna Huffington made on the deal—has left the news site's unpaid contributors wondering where their piece of the pie is, the Daily notes. "My share of the Huffington Post sale, zero dollars, was a little disappointing," tweeted comedian Andy Borowitz. More»

HuffPo gets cash, AOL gets a vision, advertisers get eyeballs

(NEWSER) - AOL's purchase of the Huffington Post is drawing plenty of muted cheers—and a few harsh critiques. Most seem to agree that both sides come out ahead.

• “The content rollup has begun,” writes Michael Wolff at MediaWeek , and new media is becoming old media—"if it’s lucky." Calling the buy an "advertising play" Wolff writes that "Internet content CPMs suck," which means that the business demands more and more traffic, "ever more miserly economies of scale, and a whole new level of clout."

Arianna Huffington will head AOL content

(NEWSER) - AOL is buying the Huffington Post for a whopping $315 million, and Arianna Huffington will become the owner of AOL news content. The purchase will bring the AOL news operation another 25 million visitors a day, reports AP. That's expected to help AOL boost its struggling display advertising business. The deal "will create a next-generation American media company with global reach that combines content, community, and social experiences for consumers," said AOL CEO Tim Armstrong. Huffington will be named president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, which will include all Huffington Post and AOL content. More»