HuffPo Turns to Blogtivism

The Huffington Post is one of the most-read news sites on the Web, providing a great platform for breaking stories, ideas and opinions. Because it is as much blog as it is news site, the content on the HuffPo, as dedicated readers call it, runs the gamut from factual reporting to railing about the injustices of the world to occasional sensationalist claptrap.

That’s why the HuffPo has the ability to go all activist-y — it has crafted for itself a journalistic middle ground where no one’s pretending reporters don’t have opinions. Let’s call it "blogournalism." Kind of like what we do here at good old Tonic.

Arianna Huffington, the site’s co-founder and editor-in-chief, has just announced a new section of the site called HuffPost Impact, which will be dedicated entirely to social responsibility, specifically, according to an article by Huffington, "service, social causes, volunteering, and giving back."

HuffPost Impact will provide readers moving news stories and information on how to take immediate and concrete action to make a difference. The section is developed in partnership with Causecast, a video-oriented site that offers viewers insight into important social causes.

"This section holds a special place in my heart," Huffington writes. "It's an idea I've been pursuing in one form or another for over 15 years." The idea is to make journalism serve as the jumping-off point for deeper engagement. "At HuffPost Impact, reaching the end of a story is just the beginning of the chance to make a difference."

Image courtesy of Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, after J. Howard Miller, via Flickr