Huffington Post Italia Launches in Italy (VIDEO)
Arianna Huffington expanded her empire once again. Huffington has officially launched Huffington Post Italia in Italy. The all-Italian site debuted with an exclusive interview with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and will include the Huffington Post’s trademark mix of news, blogging, community, and social engagement to Italy.
Seven years ago, in an age when many people thought of bloggers as unemployed young people sitting at home in their pajamas, Arianna Huffington launched a blogging platform with the goal of bringing together an array of voices. Watch The Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington talk to genConnect about the growth of her blogging platform:
Arianna with Huffington Post Italy staff before launch
WATCH: Arianna Huffington Reflects on Nora Ephron’s Passing
“I wanted to bring a lot of the great voices that were offline, online,” Huffington said of starting The Huffington Post. She mixed young writers with older, more experienced writers, and gradually added established journalists to her roster, with many doing long-form, investigative pieces on an array of topics.
But did she ever imagine The Huffington Post would become the institution it is today?
“You know, I dreamt about it,” Huffington said, “but I can’t say that I had a five-year plan of how exactly we would get there. That’s part of the magic of any startup. You never quite know what the great moments, the breakthroughs, are going to be. Part of it has been bringing together great people.”
On launching Huffington Post Italy, Huffington wrote in a blog post: ”While L’HuffPost will devote plenty of space to what isn’t working in Italy, we will also put the spotlight on what is working: the innovation, ingenuity, spirit and resilience of the Italian people. …Above all, L’HuffPost will celebrate Italy’s vibrant culture, from its cuisine, operas, and art to its traditions, ancient history and legendary cities.”
In August, Huffington launched HuffPost Live – a streaming network that uses the Huffington Post’s stories, editors, bloggers and commentators as its real-time script. It also encourages viewer participation and to help shape the news. It’s yet another example as to how Huffington is expanding her blogging platform into all corners of media.
Related: The Power of Online Communities
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Category: Career, Career Development, Videos, Views on the News
