The Huffington Post, an AOL (NYSE: AOL) media property, plans to launch an online-video network Aug. 13.
HuffPost, which will be produced from studios in New York and Los Angeles, is being overseen by Huffington Post founding editor Roy Sekoff. The parent Huffington Post offered up a new, "HuffPost Live 3, 2, 1 …" to provide a taste of what the online network wants to be and a way for potential contributors to learn about and participate with features before the official launch, Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group wrote on the site.
"One of our goals is to create the most social video experience possible," Huffington wrote on the Huffington Post. "And since we want you be real partners in what we are building, we've created 'HuffPost Live 3, 2,1...,' a section that will help us find out what kind of network you want to be a part of--and which of our community members want to join us live on the air as regularly featured guests."
Huffington, in her online contribution, added that "HuffPost Live aims to be as disruptive in video as HuffPost has been in the way news is consumed and engaged with."
While Huffington is recruiting the common folks for the site, it's already gathered some interesting on-air talent, including former Al Jazeera English co-host Ahmed Shihab-Eldin; U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez' (D-N.J.) daughter and SiriusXM (Nasdaq: SIRI) host Alicia Menendez, who also contributes to NBCLatino.com; and Columbia University professor and former Fox New analyst Marc Lamont Hill.
"The days of media gods sitting up on Mt. Olympus telling us how things are have been over for a while," Huffington wrote in a HuffPost Live 3, 2, 1 contribution. "The news is no longer about a few people telling everyone else what happened--it's about everyone telling everyone what's happening right now."
HuffPost Live isn't starting out on a wing and a prayer. The site already has two sponsors--Cadillac and a "major wireless provider," the company said.
For more:
- see this Capital New York story
- read this HuffPost blog
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