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[RJT]

Damn, TechCrunch sure is butt-hurt...

We really have to stop being scooped by rivals on news affecting our own company.

Tonight, courtesy of a press release that our parent company sent to everyone but us, we learn that AOL has acquired the Huffington Post for $315 million. More interestingly, Arianna Huffington has been made Editor In Chief of all AOL content, including TechCrunch.

Wow – things are sure moving fast tonight. Following this evening’s big news, we’re hearing from multiple sources that, effective tomorrow morning, TechCrunch.com will be renamed HuffingtonCrunch.com. Please update your bookmarks.

For those who missed it, the change is the result of AOL’s acquisition of the Huffington Post and Arianna Huffington’s appointment as Editor In Chief of the entire Internet AOL.

According to the same sources, TechCrunch isn’t the only AOL property to be affected by the Huffington acquisition. We understand that, also from tomorrow, Popeater.com will be renamed “GOPeater.com”, PoliticsDaily will become “PoliticsDailyKos” and Mapquest will be rebranded as “Keith Olbermann’s BEST MAPQUEST IN THE WORLD”

Oh, and “Huffington Post Comedy” will now be called “Engadget”.

Confusing, to say the least...

 

[JGS]

The part that's a bad idea is changing the name. There are lot's of people who don't necessary go to a political leaning sight. So why brand sites with the Huffington name.

AOL is doing better distancing itself from the brands they own and now they are going to use the name of a polarizing figure. Huffington is not quite Oprah in universal acceptance. However, maybe that was part of the take it or leave deal.

 

[ivysaur12]

While I think that Ariana is an extremely intelligent woman, HuffPo is nothing more than sensationalist news tied with some terrible "top 10s" about some expensive universities. It's barely above DailyKos, and there are better liberal news sources and blogs to go to.

 

[Amory]

315 million for the huffington post? Lol.

Anyone else remember that article they published where the writer was all proud that she went a single weekday without spending any money?

Good buy for AOL...

 

[ElectricBlue187]

Myspace must be next on the list of AOL acquisitions.

 

[ManDudeChild]

315 million for the huffington post? Lol.

Anyone else remember that article they published where the writer was all proud that she went a single weekday without spending any money?

Good buy for AOL...

Want to LOL more? Check this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/huffington-post-aol_b_819373.html

Summary: Remember that YouTube vid that surfaced right after it was sold to Google? This is the editorial equivalent.

 

[Tim-E]

While I think that Ariana is an extremely intelligent woman, HuffPo is nothing more than sensationalist news tied with some terrible "top 10s" about some expensive universities. It's barely above DailyKos, and there are better liberal news sources and blogs to go to.

I was on my way to type almost this exact post. It's a nearly unfiltered tabloid-like website full of garbage; and I'm remarkably "liberal."

Their most viewed article judging from that link above "WATCH: CHRISTINA AGUILARA TOTALLY MESSES UP NATIONAL ANTHEM"

This is a site for high school students who want to pretend they care about politics.

 

[Suikoguy]

They must want to over-sensationalize all of their stories.

 

[J-Rod]

I hope this doesn't impact engaget.

 

[ElectricBlue187]

I hope this doesn't impact engaget.

I think you mean HuffGear

 

[Stumpokapow]

I don't think this is a good branding move.

1) HuffPo loses its progressive bona fides
2) AOL unnecessarily "takes a side politically"
3) Both possibly occur at the same time

 

[cartoon_soldier]

It sounds like Huff Po is buying AOL

lol

 

[JGS]

It sounds like Huff Po is buying AOL

lol

That's probably the point. AOL is still huge and apparently profitable, just wasn't in Time Warner's league (In relation to what they paid for it) so they got rid of it. However, it needs an identity since "You've got mail!" doesn't work anymore.

I still question the logic of this move though. Someone joked about it, but I think MySpace would actually be a better fit.

 

[Busty]

Somewhere a bunch of Time Warner executives are laughing their heads off.

 

[Davidion]

As said, the branding decisions are somewhat baffling. I thought that first picture in the OP was a joke for a hot second.

 

[victreeb3l]

I don't think this is a good branding move.

1) HuffPo loses its progressive bona fides
2) AOL unnecessarily "takes a side politically"
3) Both possibly occur at the same time

yeah thats what i was thinking too

but huffpo generates a ton of traffic so that = $$$ why care if huffpo has shit content if it makes so much cash?

i think AOL makes a killing from their huge network of blogs these days anyways so this will just strengthen their portfolio. $315M is just too much though

 

[itsgreen]

Oh. This is good.

This is a post I never thought I’d have to write. Unfortunately, I do. And the worst part about it is that it should be Michael Arrington writing this post, not me.

But he can’t.

TechCrunch is on the precipice. As soon as tomorrow, Mike may be thrown out of the company he founded. Or he may not. No one knows. And if he is, he will be replaced by — well, again, no one knows. No one knows much of anything. Certainly no one at TechCrunch. This site is about to change forever and we’re in the total fucking dark. I’ve been able to piece together little bits of information here and there, and it’s not looking good. Hence, this post.

By now, if you read TechCrunch, you likely know about the nuclear situation that has exploded over the past several days. Mike unveiled an investing entity known as the “CrunchFund” with full AOL support — so much support, mind you, that they’re the largest backers of the fund — only to have his legs kicked out from under him due to what can only be described as nonsensical political infighting and really poor communication. To make matters worse, some Journalists (with a big “J” and even bigger senses of entitlement) have proceeded to pile on, despite having no real knowledge — at all — of the way TechCrunch actually works. And now here we are.

Earlier this evening, I wrote a post on my personal blog attempting to explain to those outside our company how TechCrunch actually works from an editorial perspective. The notion that Mike, or anyone else, investing in a company would dictate some sort of giant conflicted agenda is laughable. Literally. If Mike tried to get me to write some unreasonable post about a company he had invested in, I would laugh at him. But he would never do that. Ask Loic Le Meur. Ask Kevin Rose. Ask Shervin Pishevar. Ask Airbnb. Ask countless others. He didn’t get to where he is by being an idiot. He has gotten to where he is by being honest with his readers. Even if everyone doesn’t always agree with him, he has been honest. And he’s brought forth information that no one else has, even when it’s probably not in his best interest to do so.

AOL may be on the verge of changing all of that.

Again, none of us know for sure — including Mike — but I have a really bad feeling. In my post earlier, I wrote, “These things tend to flare up every few months, and they ultimately end up meaning nothing.” That was premature. These situations have arisen in the past — multiple times — and they always have led nowhere. But now I think this time actually may be different. Arianna Huffington is already on record as saying she’s looking for a new Editor-in-Chief to replace Mike (who technically was co-Editor along with Erick — even though the title has never meant much). And there are conflicting reports as to whether or not Mike actually works for AOL — let alone TechCrunch — anymore.

As someone who has helped build TechCrunch into what it has become, this entire situation is insulting. I can only imagine how Mike feels.

The point of my earlier post was twofold: 1) to dispel the assertions being made by The New York Times and others about our brand of reporting. 2) To provide everyone with some insight as to how TechCrunch actually works. If we have anything close to a trade secret, that’s it. The magic at TechCrunch happens because the writers have very little oversight. Instead, the emphasis is placed on hiring the right writers in the first place and putting them through a trial-by-fire to see who emerges. Those that have, my peers, are the best at what they do. And that’s why TechCrunch has soared.

Mike Arrington has enabled all of this. He brought in Heather, he brought in Erick, he brought in the rest of us. He built TechCrunch out of thin air. He’s made enemies along the way. He rubs some people the wrong way. But there is no question that the entire space is better because of what he’s built. And there’s also no question that what he’s built needs him.

Could TechCrunch survive without Mike Arrington? Probably. We’re doing so many pageviews now, and the machine is so profitable, that you can plug in other parts and it will run. But without him, it will not be the same. You might not think you’ll miss what he brings, but you will. Quite often, you never even see what he brings. But it permeates the entire site.

If AOL tries to bring in their own Editor-in-Chief to run TechCrunch, it will be a colossal fucking mistake. The old adage: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” — if AOL throws out Mike and tries to install their own despot, it will be breaking it just so they can fix it. And they might not like the end result. It may run, but it will never purr with the precision at which we purr right now.

I can’t believe this is even a possibility. But it is. And so I’m writing this at the eleventh hour to let you, our readers, know before you find out via a press release. I don’t know, maybe I’m hopeful that the collective voice of millions of loyal readers can change a company’s mind. Maybe that’s naive. But it’s worth a shot. We owe that to Mike.

AOL seems to think that by cutting off the biggest conflicts — ones so big that they’d obviously have to be disclosed — that they’ll be a bastion of integrity in the editorial landscape. What a bunch of horse shit. The conflicts we need to worry about are the ones not disclosed. They’re far more prevalent and they do actually deceive readers because they’re far more subtle. But that’s an impossible task. AOL can’t fix that — no one can. So instead they’ll slaughter the lamb everyone can see to gain puffery amongst the old media peers who also live to die another day.

It has almost been exactly one year since AOL acquired us. At the time, they promised not to interfere with the way we do things. For 11+ months, they’ve kept their word, and things have run beautifully from our end. Our business is one of the few sterling ornaments on their mantel. Now they may break their promise to us. And if that promise is broken, it will break TechCrunch.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/06/the-end/

 

[Rlan]

Being a NeoGAF guy, I find it kind of funny that the AOL+Huff image in the topic makes zero mention of Joystiq.

 

[SuicidalSteve]

AOL in a Huff?

 

[Funky Papa]

Arrington is a colossal jackass and has been extremely belligerent to AOL since day one, despite the fact that he sold it to them.

One has to wonder if he is looking for a quick way out so he can enjoy his millions before his contract expires. I wouldn't believe a word of him or his circle.

 

[Thomper]

Arrington is a colossal jackass and has been extremely belligerent to AOL since day one, despite the fact that he sold it to them.

One has to wonder if he is looking for a quick way out so he can enjoy his millions before his contract expires. I wouldn't believe a word of him or his circle.

This. Though I wouldn't go so far as to call him a jackass, as I don't know him, but he sold his site to AOL a year ago. He chose to do that. If Techcrunch was wildly profitable already? If you wanted to remain completely independent, why sell? I'm pretty sure he made millions from selling Techcrunch, so the problem now is... he's angry about not being completely free to do stuff? Well, then don't sell your things. It seems reasonable for AOL to have at least some say in your actions, if they paid for you.

Edit: Also, their [AOL's] complaint seems entirely reasonable. TechCrunch is an incredibly powerful techblog, and having the editor-in-chief of that blog invest in things his site might blog about later... that seems awkward. I'm sure they'll disclose it properly and not have it be written about by those who actually invested directly, but still, even a mention on Techcrunch is incredibly important to a techsite, and Arrington could basically guarantee that all the sites he invests in would later appear on his site, and thus become more valuable. Fishy stuff.

 

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

Does his tech defense-force only include owners of companies he's invested in?

And even if he's said some negative things about their current or previous projects, I'm sure there was much less vitriol.

 

[NeoUltima]

Holy moly, AOL has that much cash?

fake edit: beaten

 

[spiderman123]

Why buy Huffo Post.? :S

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I'm shocked AOL can still buy things they must have had more suckers in the 90s then I thought

 

[TheNatural]

I have no idea how AOL can even afford this stuff, the original post is a few months old, and the problems with the acquisitions and keeping the creative control for the acquisitions is very important. Not shocking at all though they're having problems.

AOL is a sinking ship though, and has been sinking for over a decade. I really think they won't exist anymore within 6-8 years. I'm surprised they've managed to survive this long, off the ridiculous amounts of money they made during the start up of the internet.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

Huffington Post can be shut down for all that I care. Their iPhone app is a POS that they refuse to fix. Links don't work. Constant freezes and shut downs. Pathetic.

 

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

FIRED