Huffington Post Launches in U.K.

What’s the Latest Development?

“To celebrate the launch of the Huffington Post in Britain, Arianna Huffington organised a debate with Kelly Osbourne, one of the magazine’s many unpaid celebrity bloggers; Jon Gaunt, a former journalist for the Sun and Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former press secretary… All were invited to discuss blogging, or rather the “Self-Expression Revolution”, as the Huffington team called it.” Other topics discussed that evening were the influence of Twitter on society on the recent scandal over Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World.

What’s the Big Idea?

“Huffington neatly encapsulated the event in saying there were no differences between bloggers and journalists, except that the latter have more training. She then encouraged everyone to write for the Huffington Post United Kingdom—for free of course. By the evening’s end, Huffington seemed to be defending her website more than promoting it. Indeed, journalists are largely angry at—and a bit scared of—people like Arianna Huffington. She may be revolutionising self-expression, but she is also using her strong brand to get people to work for free.”