The National Writers Union will co-staff a picket line against Arianna Huffington, who is scheduled to appear at the upcoming National Association of Black Journalists’ convention in Philadelphia, Thursday, August 4, 2011.
Huffington is the respondent in a class action lawsuit recently filed against the Huffington Post.com, Huffington Post owner Arianna Huffington, et al, and AOL.com, Inc.
The suit alleges that thousands of writers and other content providers were keenly responsible for the success of HuffPo’s rise on the Internet, having filled its online pages with the substantive content that gave rise to its reputation, enough so that, having acquired a solid grounding for HuffPo, the owners subsequently sold it to AOL for $315 million. Ms. Hufffington was then hired as content director by the new owners for four million dollars. She’s been quoted as saying to the effect that, in lieu of pay, writers garner attention to themselves.
To join the picket line, contact the new NWU HuffPo organizer Amanda Melpolder at 917.573.4118 or at amanda@nwu.org for travel arrangements.
Tags: AOL, journalists, NABJ, pickets, writers