The Huffington Post and the content conundrum

I saw Carla Buzasi, editor in chief of the Huffington Post in the UK, at  Publishing Expo yesterday.  The growth of Huffpo is a majestic and rather terrifying story, and Carla was just as good in front of an audience of publishers as she was at the Levenson Enquiry.  She explained that, while all the blogs that make up so much of the site's content are read, they aren't edited. 

Anyone who knows UK defamation law knows why  far easier to use an innocent dissemination defence if you really are just providing a channel for views that are not your own.

Still, an interesting model both for brands and rival media owners: building an opinionated community no longer takes hundreds of paid staff. While Huffpo in the US now has more than 600 journalists on the payroll, the UK operation is much, much smaller, yet it's growing fast in both traffic and influence. 

A coup for Publishing Expo to have her speak, and a good job moderating by Neil Thackray.