To do good writing, read good writing. Here’s the good writing I’ve been reading this week:
We interrupt our regularly scheduled list of recommended reading for writers to bring you more reactions to AOL’s deal to buy Huffington Post for $315 million in cash and stock, a deal that would make Arianna Huffington the company’s new head of content.
There’s a lot of “what does this mean” posts about the deal floating around, but I’m focusing on those that pertain specifically to writers and bloggers.
They are:
The Politics of the New Huffington Post at AOL (Jay Rosen’s PressThink) – From the esteemed industry pundit and New York University journalism professor.
How The Huffington Post Really Works (In Case You Were Wondering) (HuffPo) – One friend and fellow journalist called this a “pompous, self-righteous, but still informative post.” Read and decide for yourself.
This week in review: AOL’s big HuffPost buy (Nieman Journalism Lab) – By far the most comprehensive list of what everyone is saying about the deal.
AOL-HuffPo: Arianna and the Free Blog Economy (PaidContent)
AOL (Heart) HuffPo. The Loser? Journalism (Los Angeles Times) – Tim Rutten op-ed and winner of the best quote about the deal to date:
The Huffington Post is a brilliantly packaged product with a particular flair for addressing the cultural and entertainment tastes of its overwhelmingly liberal audience. To grasp its business model, though, you need to picture a galley rowed by slaves and commanded by pirates.
Guess who the slaves are? That’s right – you, me and anyone else who writes for HuffPo for free.