Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Man Tries to Order Priciest Starbucks Drink Ever Total cost: $23.60 »

Parasitic, Tabloid HuffPo Just Pretends to Do Journalism

The 'supposedly revolutionary über-blog' wears no clothes: Dumenco

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 22, 2009 4:15 PM CDT

(Newser) – Syracuse University’s SI Newhouse journalism school recently awarded Arianna Huffington one of their lifetime achievement awards, an honor that strikes Simon Dumenco as absurd, he writes for Advertising Age. It sounds like a brutally ironic joke: a school for training journalists honors someone who’s built a popular website on devaluing their work.

HuffPo doesn’t pay its legion of bloggers, and employs five actual reporters—most of whom seem to spend the day copying and pasting large block quotes from other publications, Dumenco observes. Furthermore, while masquerading as a “forward-thinking, respectable voice in the mediasphere,” HuffPo pads its traffic figures with shameless tabloid photo spreads such as “Megan Fox’s Open Thigh Snake Dress (PHOTOS).”


The Huffington Post drives up traffic with pics of scantily clad celebs like Megan Fox, Dumenco notes.
The Huffington Post drives up traffic with pics of scantily clad celebs like Megan Fox, Dumenco notes.   (AP Photo)
One of HuffPo's most popular stories.
One of HuffPo's most popular stories.   (HuffPo)
The logo of the Huffington Post
The logo of the Huffington Post   (Huffington Post)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

What it comes down to is this: What is the Huffington Post, really? It likes to pretend that it's a respectable voice in the mediasphere, but it shamelessly pumps up its traffic by being just as trashy as, say, Maxim.
- Simon Dumenco

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 8 comments
zentenai
Jun 24, 2009 12:45 PM CDT
I use Newser and HuffPo. It's more opinionated, but they use real sources, and entertainment is its own section. Newser is quicker, easier, and always unbiased, though, which I love.
DeniseVB
Jun 23, 2009 12:22 PM CDT
Newser is a great aggregator....fair and balanced. I've never liked Huffpo, even when I was a knee-jerk lib.
otaku
Jun 23, 2009 8:54 AM CDT
try linkin / quoting this article or commenting on this article on the HuffPo....

More Newser Stories

When News Is for the Rich, Newser Is Robin Hood...

Some UK Tabloid Stories Are Fake: Documentary

LA Police Arrest 4 in Paparazzi Crackdown

Tabloids Are Important Part of Our Culture

Brown, Huffington Tweak Feud Report


NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne