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The sale of the Huffington Post to AOL this week has been much debated in media circles. Yet most of these conversations haven’t addressed what, if anything, the move portends for the four regional HuffPo branches, including the one in Denver.
The word we get: status quo.
The July 2009 announcement that the Huffington Post would be opening up a Denver office was followed by news that the Colorado operation would be overseen by Ethan Axelrod, son of Obama advisor David Axelrod. Since then, HuffPo Denver has highlighted the writings of longtime local political figures such as Senator Gary Hart as well as providing a platform for ex-Denver Post columnist Susan Greene, who ripped her former employer in her recent HuffPo debut.
Then, this weekend, Huffington Post namesake Arianna Huffington dropped the AOL bombshell on her Twitter feed:
So thrilled to announce that today @HuffingtonPost joins forces with @AOL … Same HuffPost team, same goal … but now at lightning speed.’less than a minute ago via webArianna Huffingtonariannahuff
Will HuffPo move so fast that its operations in Denver, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles will no longer be necessary? Nope, according to Mario Ruiz, Huffington Post’s senior vice president of media relations. In an e-mail exchange, he writes, “No plans for any changes vis-à-vis Denver section,” with which Westword maintains a content-sharing agreement, as do many other Colorado publications.
Of course, that could change in the future. For now, however, the focus is on the HuffPo-AOL merger, which provides the former with an enormous cash infusion and gives the latter a chance to avoid becoming a forgotten remnant of the Internet age. Below, watch a two-part CNN Money conversation about the move featuring Huffington and AOL chief executive officer Tim Armstrong.
More from our Media archive: “More information about Huffington Post’s plan to open Denver branch.”
