Arianna Huffington

CBS Evening News Skips Liberal Label of Huffington Post
By Brad Wilmouth | February 7, 2011 | 9:49 PM EST

 On Monday’s CBS Evening News, as anchor Katie Couric read a short item on AOL’s purchase of the left-wing Huffington Post Web site, she neglected to mention the ideological lean of the Web site as she merely called it "one of the leading news Web sites."

NBC’s Brian Williams did tag the Web site as "liberal" as he also read a an item on the acquisition. Williams: "A big payday for Arianna Huffington as AOL becomes the new owner of Huffington Post, the liberal Web site she created six years ago."

ABC’s World News, which devoted much of its program to anchor Diane Sawyer’s interview with former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, did not mention the deal. 

NBC's Today Leaves Out Liberal Label for Huffington Post in AOL Buyout Coverage
By Kyle Drennen | February 7, 2011 | 3:04 PM EST

While both CBS's Early Show and ABC's Good Morning America identified The Huffington Post as a liberal blog when discussing AOL purchasing the web site for $315 million, on NBC's Today, news reader Ann Curry simply described it as an "online news site" co-founded by "pundit" Arianna Huffington.

On Good Morning America, news reader JuJu Chang referred to The Huffington Post as a "top-ten news site" but accurately described it as being "co-founded by liberal commentator Arianna Huffington." The Early Show's Jeff Glor did not label the blog a news site at all and was the most direct in pointing out its ideological slant: "Huffington Post, a left-leaning site, was founded in 2005."

NewsBusters Publisher Bozell: 'AOL News Has Lost Its Mind' with HuffPo Buyout
By Brent Bozell | February 7, 2011 | 2:45 PM EST

Editor's Note: Following news reports today that AOL News would pay $315 million to acquire The Huffington Post, NewsBusters publisher and Media Research Center president Brent Bozell issued the following statement:

This proves AOL News has lost its mind. They must be in such dire straits that they’ve been blinded by the millions and think an acquisition of The Huffington Post is worth sacrificing credibility and objectivity. AOL News is fooling only itself in thinking there is no journalistic conflict in merging with a hate-filled, vicious, radically left-wing rag.

AOL Buys HuffPo for $315m, Keeps Arianna In Charge
By Lachlan Markay | February 7, 2011 | 9:22 AM EST

A pair of updates below the fold.

AOL News announced Monday that it has chugged the Kool Aid and put Arianna Huffington in charge of the new Huffington Post Media Group. AOL will pay $315 million for the site, making it the blogosphere's largest ever acquisition.

Decisions to name Huffington president and editor in chief and to brand the new company with the Huffington Post name suggest that AOL has fully embraced a leftist spin on the news.

Arianna To Lieberman: 'For Sake Of Country, I Hope You Don't Become Secretary Of Defense'
By Mark Finkelstein | January 20, 2011 | 8:00 AM EST

Just when Joe-mentum was building for Lieberman-Huffington '12!

Say this for Arianna Huffington: she didn't stab Joe Lieberman in the back.  On Morning Joe today, the HuffPo founder went for the full frontal assault, telling the outgoing senator to his face "I sincerely hope for the sake of the country that you do not become Secretary of Defense."

Lieberman was not defenseless, at one point condescendingly spelling out for Arianna's sake the name of the author of a report he relied on to conclude Saddam was developing WMD.  When Arianna huffed that the report proved nothing, Lieberman sniped "I don't think you've read it, sweetheart."

View video of the dust-up after the jump.

Michael Moore Defends Julian Assange From Rape Charges
By Noel Sheppard | December 17, 2010 | 10:27 AM EST

As NewsBusters previously reported, schlockumentary filmmaker Michael Moore got himself in trouble this week when he defended WikiLeaker Julian Assange from Swedish rape charges.

Moore doubled down with this defense Friday publishing "Dear Government of Sweden" at the Huffington Post: 

Arianna Huffington Sued by Democrat Consultants for Stealing Website Idea
By Noel Sheppard | November 16, 2010 | 8:56 AM EST

Liberal internet publisher Arianna Huffington is being sued by two Democrat consultants for allegedly stealing their website idea.

Politico reported Monday evening the suit filed in New York State Supreme Court claims James Boyce and Peter Daou originally presented the idea for the Huffington Post to Huffington and her partner Ken Lerer, and the four made a handshake agreement to develop the website together (h/t NBer acaiguana):

Huffington Post, Created by Alleged Serial Plagiarist, Accuses George W. Bush of Plagiarism
By Lachlan Markay | November 14, 2010 | 1:00 PM EST

It's a weighty charge, plagiarism. But your credibility in making it tends to dissipate when you do so on a site founded and run by an alleged serial plagiarist.

 Arianna Huffington has been accused of lifting portions of a number of her books from other authors, and in one case had to dole out a 5-figure settlement to put plagiarism charges to rest. Her site has also taken heat from celebrities whose names appear on bylines on the site, but who didn't actually write those posts' contents.

Arianna Huffington Proudly Introduces New Section: 'HuffPost Divorce'
By Noel Sheppard | November 8, 2010 | 10:55 PM EST

This is surely going to make some mouths drop wide open.

Liberal internet publisher Arianna Huffington on Monday proudly introduced a new section to her website called "HuffPost Divorce":

Arianna Replies: It Was ABC's Matthew Dowd Who Said Rubio Looked Like a 'Dictator'
By Tim Graham | November 5, 2010 | 12:51 PM EDT

Andrew Breitbart at Big Hollywood joined NewsBusters in raising questions about Arianna Huffington's strange Election Night tweet suggesting Marco Rubio resembled a Central American dictator: "On nightline set matthew dowd on sen elect rubio surrounded by flags looking like a central american dictator." A glance at ABC's on-air content at 3 am on Wednesday morning showed neither Dowd nor Huffington said that on the air:

So what exactly was the Queen of social news media’s tweet really about? Once the “dictator” part of Arianna’s insults is stripped away, what’s left is “Central American,” and that’s the crux of her tweet. She is playing the race card with Marco Rubio. Of course the mainstream media will fail to notice that this is a racist comment, which is no less racist than if a Republican compared Obama to Idi Amin. Is there any doubt that Arianna Huffington and her Huffington Post empire would not be leading the charge to destroy the person who uttered that unfortunate analogy?

Today, Huffington replied on Twitter to Breitbart: My tweet was merely quoting, with his consent, GOP strategist Matthew Dowd’s take on Rubio’s acceptance speech. Next!

Dick Armey and Cokie Roberts Make a Fool of Arianna Huffington
By Noel Sheppard | October 31, 2010 | 3:35 PM EDT

Liberal internet publisher Arianna Huffington on Sunday went on ABC's "This Week" to spout some of her typical left-wing nonsense about the significance of the previous day's Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert rally in Washington as well as what a Republican victory on Election Day means.

Fortunately, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey and ABC's Cokie Roberts were there to refute her inanities (videos follow with transcripts and commentary):

Pressed by Kurtz, Huffington Rationalizes Appearing w/ Olbermann While Demanding Civility
By Brad Wilmouth | October 31, 2010 | 12:12 PM EDT

  On Sunday’s Reliable Sources, CNN host Howard Kurtz pressed guest Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post on her hypocrisy for calling for more civility in political discourse even while she is a regular guest on Keith Olbermann’s Countdown show on MSNBC. After Kurtz asked if MSNBC was as much of a problem as FNC, she charged that "misinformation" disseminated by FNC is "monumental" compared to MSNBC:

Definitely not as much of the problem. Have they exaggerated? Yes, they would admit it themselves. But the constant barrage of misinformation being put out by Glenn Beck, by O'Reilly, by Hannity is just monumental. I mean, this is a factual record that has been compiled of what they're saying.

She also rationalized her appearances with Olbermann by giving him credit for a lame apology the MSNBC host once addressed to Jon Stewart after Stewart called him out for viciously attacking Republican Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts. Huffington: "Well, Keith Olbermann actually apologized for that statement, for that particular statement. Have you ever seen anybody apologize except maybe Glenn Beck when he called the President a racist?"