New updates on the profiles of SHAME
[Excerpt from the original S.H.A.M.E. INTRODUCTION to Ariana's profile page, a must read for serious citizen journalists.]
Arianna Huffington (neé Stassinopoulos) is the perfect New Media symbol for the Obama Era, having conned progressives with the promise of a new, different, post-ideological model—and then delivering a cold hard dish of the same old exploitation, betrayal and hypocrisy. Arianna* sold the Huffington Post to AOL for $315 million, sparking a fierce backlash from progressives who accused her of exploiting free labor under the pretense of political idealism and “citizen journalism.” Although the surface of Arianna's career is marked by well-publicized "conversions," a closer look reveals consistent patterns of labor exploitation, strategic plagiarism, deception and hucksterism—all of which became important elements in the Huffington Post's lucrative business model. The Huffington Post has done some excellent investigative journalism, but violates basic journalism ethics by allowing corporate propaganda, lobbyists for dictators, bankers and quacks to share the same space with reporters. The Guardian called it the "grand master" of "blurring the line between advertising and editorial." Even Arianna’s long involvement in a New Age cult has been absorbed into Huffington Post's strategy, influencing the site's characteristic cult of personality and huckster model of convincing idealistic activists to work for free under the guise of a higher calling.
In light of Arianna's most recent ideological about-face, her past positions take on new meaning and significance, and are worth recalling in detail. Read more at Yasha Levine's SHAME.
Read other eye opening profiles of the following: Jeffery Goldberg, Steven Levitt and Malcolm Gladwell with updates!
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