ForbesWoman Q&A
Checking In With Arianna Huffington
07.15.09, 6:00 PM ET
In 2005 author and political journalist Arianna Huffington launched a new blog and news site, The Huffington Post.
Four years later, the site, which covers politics, entertainment, media, business and lifestyle, averages 7 million visitors a month and has become one of the most linked-to sites on the Web. There are hundreds of blogging contributors, including Alec Baldwin, Deepak Chopra, Russell Simmons and former US Weekly editor Bonnie Fuller.
In 1986, Huffington married oil millionaire and Republican congressman Michael Huffington. The couple divorced in 1997; Michael later came out as bisexual. During the late 1990s, Huffington began moving to the left of political issues. In 2003, she ran unsuccessfully
as an Independent against Arnold Schwarzenegger during the California recall election for governor.
Huffington is the author of 12 books, including 2008's Right is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded the Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe, and hosts
a public radio program. She has two teenage daughters and lives in Los Angeles.
Huffington talked to ForbesWoman about the future of print news, women being at
the forefront of the new media revolution and how she handles it all.
ForbesWoman: Where are print--both newspapers and magazines--going? Is it as dire
as some think?
Huffington: I believe that the obituaries for newspapers are premature. Many papers
are belatedly but successfully adapting to the new news environment. And until those
of us who came of age before the Internet all die off, there will be a market for print versions of newspapers. There is something in our collective DNA that makes us want
to sip our coffee, turn a page, look up from a story, say "Can you believe this?" and
pass the paper to the person across the table. All publishing is going through a
transitional time--and magazines are no exception. But there will always be an
audience for the kind of content magazines deliver.
If you look out three years, how do you see online content changing? Is there a shakeout coming? How will new platforms like cellphones be involved in delivering content?
I don't think there is any question that people will be getting more and more of their information and entertainment online and via mobile devices. But while the platforms
and the methods of delivery will evolve, it's still all about having interesting content
and delivering it in a compelling manner.
Women such as yourself, Daily Beast editor Tina Brown and Facebook COO Sheryl
Sandberg have played a dominant role in creating and building new media. To what
do you attribute that and will it continue?
Women often thrive in emerging fields that require an ability to think outside the box.
New media, by its nature, tends to be less tied to the old boys' network and the old
rules of the game.
You're a consummate multitasker. Can you give us a sense of one of your days and
how you handle it all?
The key for me is unplugging and recharging--meditating, hiking, having dinner with my daughters--and then returning to my work refreshed. And, just as important, because
I love my work, I don't find staying connected--including to my two BlackBerrys--
stressful. I find it energizing.
You're also a great networker--do you think this is important for women? If so, why?
Any advice on how they can better network?
I believe it is vitally important for women to be really supportive of each other--both
inside and outside the office.
Indeed, I often talk of the need to build "fearlessness tribes," surrounding ourselves
with women who will always be in our corner, always there for us whether we succeed or fail. Your tribe is there to give you honest feedback, to support you when the going gets tough, to help salve your wounds. And, just as importantly, to help you celebrate the
good times.
It's also very important for older women, those of us who have gone before, to give a
hand up and help the younger generation.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Comment: We can learn much from others once we drop our prejudices,
assumptions and biased preferences. The truth is the truth, no matter
who speaks of it to others. In fact, the truth has a ring to it that vibrates
with cosmic consciousness.
IF we see women as historically and traditionally being more oppressed
than men we can grasp the concept of the oppressed woman and relate
to the concept of Woman's Liberation. It worked well for some time but
now we are evolving into the concept of also Man's Liberation, which
helps us see the division fostered by any war of the sexes and instead
raises our consciousness into seeing the significance of a true People's
Liberation beyond sexual differences and into a common union as an
oppressed species of life upon planet Earth.
Education for Liberation! Venceremos Unidos!
Peter S. Lopez {aka:Peta}
Sacramento, California,Aztlan
Yahoo Email: peter.lopez51@yahoo.com
Come Together! Join Up! Seize the Time!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Humane-Rights-Agenda/
http://humane-rights-agenda-network.ning.com/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NetworkAztlan_News/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THIRD-WORLD-NEWS/
c/s
No comments:
Post a Comment