THR's 35 Most Powerful People in Media
In February 2011, AOLacquired Huffington’s website for a staggering $315 million, naming the 61-year-old editor in chief and president of the Huffington Post Media Group. Under her direction, the site has seen 59 percent growth in unique visitors since the merger and garnered an impressive 1.1 billion page views in February 2012. “We take conversations found at water coolers and around dinner tables — about art, politics, books, food and sex — and open them up and bring them online,” says Huffington of her site, which features celebrity and industry bloggers Matt Damon, Nora Ephron, Alec Baldwin and Angelina Jolie. (Huffington maintains they are not compensated.)
PHOTOS: THR's 35 Most Powerful People in Media
With plans to launch a HuffPost streaming video network in the summer, the site continues to grow and recently launched four international editions (Canada, U.K., France and Quebec) and announced two more (Spain and Italy). On April 5, it was reported that Huffington’s portfolio will include overseeing AOL’s business development, marketing, communications and technology efforts, with the Greece-born editor continuing to report to AOL’s CEO, Tim Armstrong. “Everything has intensified,” says Huffington. “So it’s been impor- tant for me to find my balance. I meditate; I do yoga. I take it day by day, moment by moment.”
