Arianna Huffington renewed her Huffington Post contract through 2019 Thursday.
The site’s namesake, Huffington’s future was cloudy as reports recently came out saying she’d let her contract expire and hadn’t signed a new one; next Verizon bought AOL and Huffington Post for $4.4 billion, leaving Huffington Post–and Arianna’s–future in doubt.
In an internal memo from Huffington to staff Thursday obtained by TheWrap, she shared confidence on Verizon’s investment in the progressive website. CNN’s Brian Stelter first reported the new deal.
“I am convinced that we will have both the editorial independence and the additional resources that will allow HuffPost to lead the global media platform shift to mobile and video.”
Huffington’s full memo below.
Dear HuffPosters,
I’m excited to let you know that I have just signed another 4-year contract to remain Chair, President and Editor-in-Chief of The Huffington Post. After all my meetings and conversations with Tim and the Verizon leadership, I am convinced that we will have both the editorial independence and the additional resources that will allow HuffPost to lead the global media platform shift to mobile and video. HuffPost is now the #1 global multi-platform news organization with over 200 million UVs – but in some ways, we’re just getting started!
Today, I can say that we are in a stronger position than we’ve ever been in, with the wind at our backs. With input from our newsroom and our tech and business leaders, we have a detailed plan to execute our vision and build on our core mission of informing, inspiring, entertaining and empowering audiences around the world. That means continuing our global expansion, investing dramatically in video production and distribution, and scaling our investment in technology and in our open platform. It means building out our world-class global newsroom as we end our relationship with AP, doubling down on our “What’s Working” coverage, and seeking out smart acquisitions and strategic investments that will bring in top talent and cutting-edge technologies to help accelerate our goals.
We would not be at this point if it weren’t for all your talent, hard work and commitment. Thank you for all you’ve done and all you’re doing, and I can’t wait to see what we will do together in this exciting new chapter.
And let’s all gather for an all-hands next Thursday, June 25th, at 11 am ET in Roebling to discuss our plans and answer all your questions. HuffPosters in our offices around the world will be able to join via webcast.
