Huffington Post Canada goes live May 26, marking first international version launched after AOL merger

Andrew Rogers

TORONTO , May 26, 2011 (press release) – The Huffington Post Canada (www.huffingtonpost.ca), a Canadian version of The Huffington Post (“HuffPost”), the popular American news and opinion site, goes live today with advertising launch partner Scotiabank. The site features HuffPost’s unique combination of original reporting, aggregation, a leading edge commenting forum, pioneering social engagement tools, and a vibrant platform for a wide range of bloggers to contribute. Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of AOL Huffington Post Media Group, a leading source of news, opinion, entertainment, community, and digital information, and Graham Moysey, general manager of AOL Canada, made the announcement.

Said Arianna Huffington, “When we announced our merger with AOL, I said that one of the things that most excited me about the deal was how it would allow us to reach our goals -- including the launch of international editions of HuffPost -- much, much faster. Three months later, a key one of those goals is being realized with the launch of our first international version, HuffPost Canada. Canadians are no strangers to The Huffington Post: 1.5 million of them visited us in March.* So starting our international expansion north of the border was a natural. I can’t wait to watch our talented HuffPost Canada edit team bring our real-time ‘digital water cooler’ to Canadians -- and Americans looking to get some insight into our neighbours to the north.”

Said Graham Moysey, “The Huffington Post pioneered a new way for people to connect with news of the day -- and with each other, so we’re excited to bring this unique platform to the already strong Canadian following as well as to the nearly 10 million Canadians that visit AOL Canada sites each month.* HuffPost Canada is a launching pad for fascinating dialogues around all the issues Canadians are passionate about.”

As AOL Canada builds The Huffington Post Canada editorial team, led by head of content, Brad Cressman, the following recent new hires have been named: Kenny Yum, a former editor at the Globeandmail.com, who joins as managing editor of both The Huffington Post Canada and all AOL Canada properties; and Brodie Fenlon, also from the Globeandmail.com, who is joining as senior news editor. Heather Reisman, founder and chief executive of Indigo Books and Music Inc., is editor-at-large of HuffPost Canada.

The Huffington Post was founded in May 2005, and has become an influential and oft-quoted media brand, "The Internet Newspaper." The site offers coverage of politics, media, business, entertainment, living, style, sustainable “green” living, world news, technology, nonprofits, college life, books, religion, food and comedy, and is a top destination for news, blogs and original content.

The Huffington Post is the most linked-to blog on the Internet, according to Technorati on May 25, 2011. HuffPost “Social News” launched in 2009 to leverage the power of social networking to allow readers to create their own personalized social networking-like news page on the site. HuffPost has 9,000 bloggers -- from politicians and celebrities to academics and policy experts -- who contribute on a wide-range of topics making news today. Among those who have blogged on HuffPost are Barack Obama, Larry David, Madeleine Albright, Robert Redford, Neil Young, Roger Martin, Mia Farrow, Hillary Clinton, Madonna, Jeff Rubin, Jamie Lee Curtis, Alec Baldwin, Mike Nichols, Craig and Marc Kielburger, Al Franken, Aaron Sorkin, Diane Francis, Natalie Portman, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Russell Simmons, George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, and more. Recent additions for HuffPost Canada include Sarah Richardson, Elizabeth May and David Suzuki.

The Huffington Post Canada is expected to attract a similar audience as The Huffington Post, whose users are engaged, influential, and affluent -- nearly 60 per cent of Canadian visitors to the site have annual incomes greater than $100K*. The site will feature premium ad formats, including the recently launched Portrait ad (also known as “Project Devil”), which has generated unprecedented engagement levels, time spent on ads and time spent viewing ad videos. The ad format allows consumers to access the content featured in the ad without leaving the page.

* Source: comScore Inc. Total Canada. All Locations. March 2011.

About AOL

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is a premier global media company with a suite of brands and products serving consumers, advertisers and publishers worldwide. The AOL Huffington Post Media Group is a leading source of news, opinion, entertainment, community and digital information comprised of a wide range of destination websites, including AOL.com, The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, Moviefone, Engadget, Patch, AOL Music, StyleList and MapQuest. The AOL Advertising.com Group includes Advertising.com, ADTECH, goviral, Pictela, Video, Content Solutions and Sponsored Listings and serves a combined content and advertising market at scale through video, brand advertising, content and ad serving. AOL is focused on engaging consumers and providing online advertising services and solutions on both AOL Huffington Post Media Group destination websites and third party websites, in addition to serving consumer platforms including AOL Mail, AIM, about.me, and mobile experiences. AOL also operates one of the largest Internet subscription access services that serves as another distribution channel for its consumer offerings.

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