El Huffington Post launches in Spain

“We are a platform for speaking and listening"

El Huffington Post is set to contribute a global conversation in Spanish. Defying a double crisis, the general economic downturn and the upheaval affecting the media sector, a fresh new take on journalism has gone live in Spain, with its finger firmly on the pulse of what’s happening in the street. "It was very exciting to click on enter", says journalist Montserrat Dominguez, editor-in-chief of the Spanish version of the successful platform launched in 2005 by Arianna Huffington in the United States.

The launch of the Spanish-language version, held at he Espacio Fundación Telefónica, was attended by leading figures from the worlds of politics, culture and the media, and was presided over by Arianna Huffington, who stressed the important role to be played by the web site to provide information and to connect readers. "We are a platform that provides an outlet to those who want to use us. It will broadcast their ideas. We offer a platform for them to speak and listen," she said. The editor-in-chief of El País, Juan Luis Cebrian, added: "El Huffington Post will give Spaniards access to a global conversation."

The former Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, the deputy secretary general of the Socialst party PSOE, Elena Valenciano, the Socialist spokesperson in Congress, Soraya Rodriguez, journalists Jose Antonio Zarzalejos and Angel Exposito, and the writer and presenter Boris Izaguirre were also present for the launch, which comes at a particularly crucial moment for the press. This is the first  Spanish-language version of The Huffington Post, explained Cebrian, but the model has already attracted interest in Latin American countries such as Colombia, Argentina and Mexico. He stressed that the Internet is a global conversation and added that local editions will be available "very soon," as soon as the initiative’s performance has been evaluated on this side of the Atlantic.

El Huffington Post is the Spanish version of the popular U.S. news and views portal created by Arianna Huffington in 2005, and  went live at midnight with a report on the tihtlipped policy of silence followed by the current government. The founder of the site  responded to those who question the fact that bloggers are not paid. "We are a media company in the United States that has created 500 jobs. We invest in journalism, in reporters who win Pulitzer Prizes. And we are also a distribution platform," she said. Bloggers, added Dominguez, receive another type of compensation, such as "reaching people".

The new platform provides a vital outlet for current affairs and debate, and where the protagonists are the readers. All kinds of issues have a place: politics, the economy, technology and entertainment. Content aimed at a specialized and demanding audience will be mixed with other content geared towards a broader public.

Three different kinds of columns make up the web site. One will cover basic hard news, and another will be devoted to lighter social and celebrity news. The third area will be provided by bloggers, a place for people interested in sharing their opinions, their knowledge and their passions.

This is set to be one of the chief attractions of El Huffington Post. Bloggers making their debut include political figures, such as governing PP party leader Esteban Gonzalez Pons and the Socialist leader, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, scientists such as the director of the National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), Maria Blasco, filmmaker Alex de la Iglesia, economist Emilio Ontiveros, the creator of Tuenti, Zaryn Dentzel, and indignado movement activist Pablo Prieto. Readers can also follow Arianna Huffington, Montserrat Domínguez and Juan Luis Cebrian, from among the twenty blogs that kickstart the site.

Meanwhile, many more bloggers are eager to get on board -  a further 130 confirmed bloggers including Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, the Basque regional government leader Patxi Lopez, Felipe González, the versatile Santiago Segura and Jose Mota.

El Huffington Post, in which PRISA Noticias, publisher of El Pais, and The Huffington Post, each hold a 50% stake, will have its own editorial team that will bring together the media experience of PRISA, the leading news and media group in Spanish, and the successful Huffington formula that combines original content with a broad network of blogs, news aggregation and the massive participation of users, the hallmarks of this globally recognized brand. In the United States the site boasts more than 48 million unique users, and in Europe versions have already gone online in the UK and France, with another launch planned for Italy.