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# HuffPo and the market value of journalism
- URL: https://onemanandhisblog.com/2011/07/huffpo_and_the_market_value_of_journalis/
- Published: 2011-07-06T17:18:37.000Z
- Updated: 2015-04-08T15:15:00.000Z
- Author: Adam Tinworth
- Tags: Blogging, huffington post, Journalism, opinion

![Huffington Post UK](https://i2.wp.com/www.onemanandhisblog.com/content/images/2011/07/huffpouk.png?resize=530%2C381 "huffpouk.png")

OK. I’m irritated now. Perhaps it was inevitable that the media response to the launch of [Huffington Post UK](http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) today would be dominated by the fact that the [majority of the content contributors don’t get paid](http://blogs.journalism.co.uk/editors/2011/07/06/huffington-post-uk-writing-for-free-is-a-grey-area/?ref=onemanandhisblog.com). Or rather, and here’s the heart of my irritation, they’re not getting paid *money*.

I would suggest that our professional expectations are skewing our view of what the Huffington Post is offering. There may not be any money changing hands, but there is still a transaction. The bloggers provide content, the HuffPo provides exposure. And for people who make their living in other ways bar writing, that exposure can be very valuable. As [Neville Hobson puts it](http://www.nevillehobson.com/2011/07/02/on-board-with-the-huffington-post-uk/?ref=onemanandhisblog.com):

> It also means that I’ll be writing for a mainstream medium. That traditionally means you need to be a journalist, which I’m not. I don’t know yet who any of the other bloggers are who’ll be writing for the UK edition, but my guess is that a majority will not be journalists.

This isn’t a new model. Many business to business titles publish expert comment or advice from industry professionals, who contribute copy for exposure. In effect, they are advertising their expertise. It’s a transaction that works well for publishers, writers and readers, and has for, literally, decades. The only difference is that the HuffPo is doing this in a bigger and more mainstream way.

I think people are misreading the situation. The market value of content is impossible to define, because it’s too wide a category. The market value for journalism is a more interesting issue, because a lot depends on what you mean by journalism. If you mean reporting – finding out unpublished things, proving them and publishing, well, I think the market value is largely unaffected by what the HuffPo is doing. If you mean spouting your opinions at the world – well, I think this launch makes the market value for that very clear indeed.