A group of well-known wealthy liberals, led by Arianna Huffington, are starting a Web ‘zine along the lines of Salon or Slate. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! They have the money, the fame and the opinions to make it take off. Take a look at the confirmed contributors to the site’s group blog:
Sen. Jon Corzine, Larry David, Barry Diller, Tom Freston, David Geffen, Vernon Jordan, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Harry Evans and his wife, Tina Brown. That’s just to name a few, and Huffington is still recruiting.
Other names include “blue-chip intellectuals” like Norman Lear. The only name that surprises me is Mort Zuckerman, the NY Daily News/US News & World Report publisher, who always sounded slightly conservative when I saw him on “Hardball” or other cable shows. Why the sudden rush of Hollywood types to blog? Because someone else is doing the production!
The trick: The contributors won’t actually have to learn how to blog if they don’t want to. “Rest assured,” Huffington’s e-mail says, “we’re going to make it as easy as possible for you to be a part of our group blog. We’re setting up a system wherein you’ll be able to e-mail or phone in your latest take, which our editorial team will fact-check and turn into a blog post.
“There will also be times when we e-mail you, asking for your take on a breaking story or issue that seems to be in your wheelhouse of interest or expertise. Picture the greatest Charlie Rose panel ever assembled — and we’ll be able to put it together instantly.”
In other words: pawn it off on your personal assistant. Who will know the difference? Ghostwritten blogging, that’s the next big thing!
I’m a tech journalist who’s making a TV show about a college newspaper.