The new Media the same as the old Media

Arianna Huffington merger with AOL is simply an evolution of the media world, but the real question is - What does AOL get for their $315 million? Before becoming infected with leftist populism, Huffington began her career fighting with feminism, attempting to help her moderate ex husband get elected as Senator (a task that she failed at), becoming part of the Newt Gingrich inner circle, and being the “conservative side kick” to Al Franken on Comedy Central.

Her latest gig was the Huffington Post, advertised as a means to get beyond the “various political poles”, evolved into a leftist daily. Huffington Post combined political commentary, occasional serious news along with the latest in sports, arts and entertainment. It became a New York Times online, only more entertaining. Ms. Huffington set up a “citizen journalism” network in which she was able to get thousands of bloggers to contribute new stories for nothing more than a privilege of being part of the Huffington Post. Huffington proved to be an entrepreneur when it came to internet journalism and showed that she could push the news agenda as many of her stories were often carried throughout the old media.

Now she brings the Huffington model to AOL, who is now looking to be more than an internet entry point, but a full fledge news circuit with leading pundits, some of which might be paid. AOL have a team of writers presently, but Huffington expands the AOL universe and will have access to millions of more visitors for her leftist political leanings.

Which brings us to the lesson of the buy out, the media is evolving before our eyes and the traditional media is channg in front of our eyes. The print media is moving from the street corner and front door to the internet. The biggest problem for the internet was making money and much of it has been delivered free. This could work as a model when journalists could make money in the print media and television, but today, the print media is declining and many journalists are forced to the internet just to write.

Over the past three decades, many journalists immigrated to television with the introduction of the 24 hour cable news and now they are migrating to the internet. Pay for writing on the internet is less than for print so the future of journalism is also changing.

So what does this mean for conservatives? Over the years, the media has been property of the left (with the exception of Fox News) but the left has successfully migrated to the internet with Huffington Post along with the Daily Kos. The left views the internet as an additional supplement to spread their message. Newsweek has merged with the Daily Beast and Huffington Post has now become AOL, or is it AOL becoming the Huffington Post?

Conservatives began their end around the liberal media with talk radio, which they dominate. Fox has now become the number one cable news network. Instapundit and Pajamas Media have attempted to combine a moderate, liberal, conservative alliance to news coverage and punditry to counter the more extreme left that dominates much of the media. The Daily Caller is attempting to become the right wing version of the Huffington Post.

The biggest effect of these developments is that the school of journalism will cease to be worth much since many citizen journalists can simply get started on the internet. The school of journalism will no longer be the gate keepers of the media and this eliminates one leftist way of controlling or skewing the news by training new journalists.

For many years, conservatives have ceded culture to the left from newsroom to Hollywood. The new media will allow the right to make inroads in journalism and even Hollywood while competing with the left when it comes to the cultural.