This story exemplifies why, as a journalist , I’m no big Huffington Post fan. The large-font headline takes up the space above the fold. Surely there is a hard-hitting news story behind. Right? Nope.
The five-paragraph story, while carrying a Huffington Post byline, culls from other reports, CNBC and New York Post on the page, with links as sourcing to other HuffPo stories that also largely or wholly depend on other news services (Reuters is one).
So the big, splashy headline story offers no original reporting. It’s mere aggregation pretending to be something more (because of the HuffoPo byline). There’s a place for this kind of reporting, because the site is so successful. But I don’t have to like it.
Am I living some archaic journo fantasy, or should major news outlets do more? I’d love your feedback.