Star blogging

Star blogging

: In one of the worst-kept secrets around, Arianna Huffington, blogger and blog lover, is starting an online thing — group blog, zine, whatever — that is supposed to be attracting big names to little media. Writes Greg Lindsay:

Based in New York and staffed with a full complement of editors, the Huffington Report appears to be a culture and politics webzine in the classic mold of Salon or Slate. It will have breaking news, a media commentary section called “Eat the Press,” and its most interesting innovation, a group blog manned by the cultural and media elite: 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.

Her business partner is Ken Lerer, the head of AOL Time Warner corporate communications until Bob Pittman lost and Dick Parsons won.

PaidContent also found a connection to Jonah Peretti of Eyebeam. Lerer, Peretti and others worked together on projects for the Million Mom March.

Of course, the punchline here is that Tina Brown, who loves to dis blogs, could blog. But that assumes that these guys will be blogging. It’s more likely they’ll be dropping their political bon mots when they want. But it’s a smart move to create the bon-mot-catcher to take advantage of that: Send an email to Arianna and have it published to the world. It’s a lot easier than having to go into Air America or Bill Maher’s show.

7 responses to “Star blogging”

  1. Ruth Avatar

    No doubt they’ll see their way clear to charging for their ‘mots’ soon enough. Surely we can find a way to bill them for our services in getting the news literally delivered to their doorsteps?

  2. Micah Sifry Avatar

    Bon mot catcher I could find mildly entertaining; ghosted blog posts for celebrities who already waste most of our time I’m against.

  3. Mike G Avatar

    Wait, I just want to savor this another moment:
    “Vernon Jordan, Gwyneth Paltrow”

  4. kevinP Avatar

    Jeff:
    Have you sent Tina her Stasi issue pajamas?

  5. Jon Bon Mot Garfunkel Avatar

    I’ve glad you’ve done your part to convince the gliteratti to join the bandwagon. Another popular folk art form on the path to being corporatized…
    How does your definition of blogging exclude “dropping political bon mots when they want”?

  6. John Avatar

    If they want to have a liberal group blog, in the same vein as The Corner at National Review Online, there’s no problem with that. But if their plans are just to float in from on high, drop their pearls of wisdom on the masses and then float away until their next burst of inspiration, with no desire to either interact with the readers or provide html links to support their positions, then its unlikely the thing is going to generate any buzz at all outside of those who care what people whose names appear in bold type in a few of the gossip columns are thinking.

  7. Halley Avatar

    Now Boys and Girls!
    Okay, we all sound a little snotty here, and rightly Jarvis, you mention a smirk-worthy point — in the middle of this pile of raw talent we find Tina Brown, always quick to dis bloggers with a quick lashing of her pointy tongue — but, and this is a VERY BIG BUT, as we bloggers know, the proof is most decidedly in the blogging pudding.
    I would like to suggest that blogging is rather like marathon running. All are invited to participate. Come one! Come all! But unfortunately, some drop dead along the way. Let’s watch and see.