Huffington Post Reaches New Low: Update
October 25, 2007My post on the poor writing and editing in the Huffington Post is getting lots of comment. For the record, I have nothing against blogger Kristen Reeves, who I don’t know and to whom I wish every success. But a ‘publication’ like the Huffington Post does its readers—and its writers–a disservice when it posts something like this. (By the way, the original seems to have been re-edited without noting the changes, although it still makes little sense.)
As I see it, there are two issues for holding bloggers to a basic standard of written communication (and I don’t care if this comment makes me a dinosaur, school marm or copy editor wanna-be):
Amateur or professional?
Blogging–writing or conversation?
If you’re blogging about your love of cats or Jean-Claude Van Damme, I don’t care about your grammar or spelling–I’ll make the effort to understand what you have to say. I’ll see it as a conversation.
But if you’re running a commercial enterprise like the Huffington Post festooned with Subaru advertisements (and as LAObserved notes, not paying writers–not an issue for Laurie David, but a problem for the average freelancer) I expect readibility and cogent arguments.
Ariana Huffington was originally known for her writing; if your name is on the publication, whether it’s Hearst or Huffington, your reputation is ultimately at stake.
Conversation or written communication, amateur or professional, here’s the bottom line: if I can’t discern your argument or understand your point, I can’t respond to your blog.