Dazzle, Yes. But Can They Blog?

WaPo reports The essence of blogging has been the one-man band, the big mouth in the basement, the pajama-clad pontificator taking on the media establishment.

Now Arianna Huffington, who knows something about seizing the spotlight, wants to change that. Today she launches a 300-person blog, the Huffington Post, featuring lots of her famous showbiz friends, that could redefine the nature of online commentary, or at least bring her another 15 minutes.

Her marquee names -- Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Geffen, Rob Reiner, Albert Brooks, Bill Maher, Larry David -- aren't exactly hurting for ways to get their messages out.

"The great thing about blogging is that your thoughts don't have to have a beginning, middle and end," says Huffington, arguing that famous folks are usually too busy to craft an op-ed piece. "You can just put a thought out there in the cultural bloodstream."

Huffington's Hollywood pals -- who also include such writers and producers as David Mamet, Norman Lear, Mike Nichols and Aaron Sorkin -- are just the neon attractions. She is also touting Walter Cronkite, Gary Hart, Arthur Schlesinger, Mort Zuckerman, Vernon Jordan and Robert Kennedy Jr. And while the blog is heavy on left-wingers, she has reached out to the right, luring the likes of John Fund of the Wall Street Journal, Tony Blankley of the Washington Times and National Review's David Frum.

Michelle Malkin blogged Pssst, did you hear? Arianna Huffington's new celebrity/grass-roots/pundit elite/progressive/whatever blog launches today. I'm informing you because, as the Huffers tell us, those evil, corporatist media meanies don't allow enough little voices to be heard. As Hollywood moonbat-turned-Huffington blogger Laurie David crowed: "The Huffington Post is going to balance the power out there that the media has had forever."

Hmmm. Now, where did I read David's statement? Oh, yeah, in the forever right-wing-controlled Washington Post. Which devoted its Style front-page to The Huffington Post and covered it ad nauseam. Like a gazillion of those other evil right-wing media outlets who keep stifling Arianna and her little people's voices.

Fercryingoutloud.

Unlike a lot of observers, though, I don't think Arianna's going to fail. Arianna is very good at what she does, which is to collect people like curios and throw sprawling house parties for them--parties that attract never-ending hordes of looky-loos simultaneously bemused and repulsed by the grand spectacle of obsequiousness and megalomania dressed up as political dialogue....

There is another way to keep tabs on the ego-fest if you must get your fix: I recommend visiting the party over at Laurence Simon and friends instead. They'll be monitoring all the Huffers' puffing so you don't have to. Go check it out and give his deserving blogs some traffic. Do it for the little people!

The Pam Meister blogged Oh happy day! The Huffington Post is now online for your reading pleasure. For those of you who were worried that leftwing celebrities like Warren Beatty and John Cusack weren't getting the chance to air their opinions on life and politics publicly, you can now rest easily.

OTB blogged The offerings so far are a decidedly mixed bag. Jim Pinkerton offers an intriguing post that begins, "You should consider the possibility that everything on this site is a lie." Jon Robin Baitz, of whom I've never heard, writes about nothing in particular. Greg Gutfeld, of whom I've also never heard (hereafter OWIHNH), offers a recipe for lemon squares. Jonah Peretti, OWIHNH, enjoins, "Let the madness begin."

One suspects it'll get better as the novelty of being able to post wears off and people wait until they have something to say before posting. (Indeed, a 300-author site has that luxury in a way that solo author or small group blogs don't.) Further, the blog looks more-or-less like a blog (permalinks, reverse chronological posting, archives), which is a good sign. On the downside, there is no SiteMeter and no trackbacks. No comments, either, but that's hardly a surprise.

Ace blogged Paul tips me that I'm on "Huffie's" blogroll. Will I blogroll her in reciprocation? I don't know. When she finally learns how to say "Bill Clinton" rather than "Beeel Cleeenton," I'll think about it.

Greg Prince blogged Today she launches a 300-person blog, the Huffington Post, featuring lots of her famous showbiz friends, that could redefine the nature of online commentary, or at least bring her another 15 minutes.

Scott @PowerLine blogged The site's format is striking, with a home page that has the feel of a newspaper rather than a blog. Bloggers are featured down the left column of the home page, with a "News wire" (headlines and photos linking to news stories) taking up most of the center and right columns; Harry Shearer's "Eat the press" feature runs across the bottom of the center and left columns. The format is impressive and attractive. The blog contributors lean heavily to the Hollywood left, although David Frum and Michael Isikoff are visible exceptions today.

huffington.isfullofcrap.com bloggs Ariana Huffington doesn't think you (the unwashed non-celebrity public masses) should be able to comment or trackback to their site just yet, so I've set up this shell site where you can comment directly on their articles while posting links to your own commentary.

If you post an article, be sure to put the URL of the permalink in the Extended Entry. The template will take care of the rest.

Has any blog, left or right, ever gotten so much hype before it ever launched?