Srinand Paruthiyil

Section 30

The New News:

An Analysis of Modern Journalistic Techniques in The Huffington Post

The delivery of news is going through a revolution. As new technologies like

livestreaming, digital delivery of news, and social networking become more popular, the tone of
news sources change. Professional news networks use sources traditionally associated with
entertainment such as Twitter and Facebook to convey opinions. The online news aggregator,
The Huffington Post serves as an example of an innovation created by the advent of digital
technologies in news. The Huffington Posts combination of new media techniques along with its
bold persona make it a haven for young liberals to consume media ascribing to their political and
personal beliefs.
The beliefs which The Huffington Post front pages appeal to are those of young liberals.
As a matter of fact, the site was established as a response to The Drudge Report, a republican
news aggregator (Encyclopedia Britannica Online 9/28). However, its appeal to young liberals
definitely goes beyond its inception. First and foremost, the front page of the HUFFPOST
POLITICS section is covered in the color blue, the color of the Democratic Party (The
Huffington Post Politics 9/16). The use of color is also utilized on the main front page which is
covered in the color green, which is a color associated with environmentalism, which is generally
a progressive ideal (The Huffington Post 9/16). While this might be associated with money, the
progressive audience might have a sense of disdain with money. Bernie Sanders main campaign
plank is to Take on thebillionaire class (Bernie Sanders RSS 9/28). So, the liberal audience
would likely interpret the color green as environmentalism, which is a light more appealing to
them than money. Underneath the green front page slider, there is a link in a large type saying
TONIGHT: THE CIRCUS RETURNS! with a picture of the republican candidates for the
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presidency in an auditorium (The Huffington Post 9/16). The text coupled with the image is a
reference to the republican debates, which may seem like a circus to the average liberal
visiting the website. Accompanying the entertainment derived from the circus, there is news of
serious interest to liberals. This includes BERNIE FACING SOUTHERN BORDER (The
Huffington Post 9/20). Not only is the news for liberals, this political references is for readers
knowledgeable of the headlines political context. Readers are also expected to know the context
of Black Voices and Gay Voices, which are headers on the main front page. (The Huffington
Post 9/16). Opinions from these minority groups generally skew liberal, thus making these
sections appealing to a progressive audience. Positioned next to those tabs are tabs for Science,
TECH,MEDIA, and HUFFPOST LIVE (The Huffington Post 9/16). These are tabs
directed towards an audience immersed in technology, suggesting a skew towards younger
generations who generally use more electronics. From these electronics comes the mass of
entertainment which young people consume, which the Huffington Post has no lack of. Next to
the technology tabs readers may find ENTERTAINMENT and COMEDY alongside plenty of
compiled entertainment articles (The Huffington Post 9/16). The incredible amount of shared
space between entertainment, politics, and technology coincides with the sites appeal to the
younger generation. In the modern world social media and some televised news channels allow
news and entertainment to share the same playing field, and younger generations have been
raised in, are used to, and might even prefer this world.
The Huffington Posts prime purpose uses the younger generations acclimation to this
new world of media to its advantage. Because it is a website, the Post is monetized by readers
clicking links to articles and seeing ads. The Huffington Post front page is meant to entertain,
inspire, enflame, and bait young liberals into clicking on links on their site. The front page
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features a large amount of internet based so-called news which is clearly meant for
entertainment. This includes a picture of a raccoon with the caption Hungry Bears.. Pumpkin
Boat.. Sex Robots.. Duck Bombs.. Magic Hipped Hula Hooper (The Huffington Post 9/17).
These entertainment topics appeal to a younger generation, which makes them more inclined to
click such articles because they are not discouraged by the close juxtaposition of political ideas
and entertainment often found in social media. Some of these political ideas include those
purposely meant to incite and enflame liberals to the end of encouraging readers to click on
article links. One article, Sarah Palin: Ahmed Was Asking For It, has a title likely to anger a
liberal, so much so that they might be likely to click on the article. In this sense the act of
enraging the reader baits one into clicking the articles link (The Huffington Post 9/19). While
some of these articles are indeed meant to anger readers, some would inspire liberals, this
includes an article saying Texas Judge Recognizes Same-Sex Marriage (The Huffington Post
9/18). However, these inspiring articles also serve to encourage the reader to click the link to the
article. Still, these articles manage to encompass the rhetorical appeal of this site, mainly based
in pathos. The Post incites anger in the readership anger towards conservatives and passion to
promote the cause of progressivism. They appeal to the emotional side of the reader which will
fall into the anger as a means to force readers into clicking on articles by means of polarizing
articles.
These polarizing materials not only function as click bait, but they form the entire direct
persona of The Huffington Post. This site manages to be both authoritative and casual at the same
time. Beyond the headlines, pull quotes from articles on the front page direct the reader, with
such passages as Let's end this pointless complaining and channel our energies into every facet
of what it takes to winwithin this great big tent we call the Democratic Party (The Huffington
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Post 9/20). The author of this pull quote, Michael Nutter, addresses the audience directly and
imperatively. Nutter writes with such authority and gravitas that is meant to arouse the reader.
This imperative nature reaches across the political aisle, with republican Linda McMahon
writing a headline giving a Memo to GOP Candidates: Get Real (The Huffington Post 9/19).
And while her ideas are something a liberal may agree with, such as What the American people
want isn't a Friars Club roast, it's a blueprint for success, that doesnt detract from how
imperative her words are (The Huffington Post 9/19). Granted, she isnt impressing a
conservative idea with which she might be less imperative on her liberal audience. While this site
is indeed very imperative, the other side of this sites personality is its casual tone. Right next to
intense political articles, readers will see pieces such as Jessica Simpsons Daughter Continues
To Be an Adorable Human Angel (The Huffington Post Politics 9/20). The juxtaposition of
politics and entertainment single out and therefore exaggerate the casual tone found in an
entertainment article amidst a sea of politics.

Juxtaposition of entertainment and politics. (The Huffington Post 9/20)

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Writing carries the same casual tone, for example, Bettina Siegel writes in response to a
particular news article Heres my one word reaction to the piece: GAH!!!! (The Huffington
Post 9/29). Her word choice is so casual and conversational, using diction like GAH which is
generally not found in professional journalistic writing (The Huffington Post 9/29).
Not only does the diction of the Posts authors contribute to the persona of the site, but so
does the design of the site. The previously mentioned large capitalized type of TONIGHT: THE
CIRCUS RETURNS on the front page is jarring, impressing its idea sharply onto the reader
(The Huffington Post 9/16). The type is imperative and demands attention. This type size is not
specific to the republican debate, it is a standard of the front page and section front pages within
The Huffington Post, for example JUSTICE DEPT. TEST: CHARGER FOR VW EXECS (The
Huffington Post 9/19) and HUFFPOST POLITICS with UNLIKELEY AUDIENCE BERNIES
APPEAL TO A VERY CONSERVATIVE SCHOOL (The Huffington Post Politics 9/19). This
continues the sites tendency to be forceful and eye-grabbing in its ideas. Furthermore in the
HUFFPOST POLITICS section header the UNLIKELY AUDIENCE is in blue, which, coupled
with the large capitalized type pushes liberal colors in the readers face (The Huffington Post
Politics 9/19). Readers will find other forceful stylistic choices on The Huffington Post, including
the excessive use of strong images. The front page is littered with famous, generally political,
figures looking away from the camera.

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/
A concentrated myriad of political figures looking off camera (The Huffington Post 9/20)

The political figures can have an admittedly subtle impersonal tone to readers who are
discomforted by the lack of eye contact from these figures. These pictures are also placed very
close together, and while scrolling through the site, readers may see many pictures at once. This
atypical barrage of images magnifies the effect of the strong pictures on the site.

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Despite its atypical tendencies, The Huffington Post in various ways is one of the many
new means of delivering media that the younger liberal generation has created. By using various
new technologies such as livestreams and combining news and entertainment, the site is
generally more accepted by younger people. Also, the liberal skew of the site isolates it for
liberals. But more than just providing a news source for young liberals, this serves as the base for
a revolution in media. The younger generations will become used to the combination of
entertainment and real news. They will be used to the integration of technology into news
delivery. They will be used to the fundamental clutter and imperative persona of the site. This
could lead the younger generation to reject old forms of media, such as paper news. Politics
could become a form of entertainment as they are reported more closely together. Entertainment
could make its way into politics. Examples of this include celebrities such as Emma Watson and
Leonardo DiCaprio speaking in the United Nations. No one person can judge whether these are
positive changes or not. But, without a doubt news sites like The Huffington Post will serve as a
foundation for such revolutions of media.

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Works Cited
"The Huffington Post | Web Site." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica,
n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.
The Huffington Post Politics. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.
The Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 16-29 Sept. 2015.
"Issues - Bernie Sanders." Bernie Sanders RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.