Author and businesswoman Arianna Huffington has announced the launch of World Post, a special website set to become an outlet for some of the most powerful people in the world.
The
Huffington Post founder has teamed up with billionaire investor Nicolas Berggruen for the project that is to be officially launched at the
World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
Contributors to
World Post will include Google’s Eric Schmidt, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Microsoft’s Bill Gates though Berggruen has said that the new venture will not be just for the elite.
“You have to start somewhere,” he said.
“A lot of these people are knowledgable. On the other hand you will see a lot of unknown voices, young voices and from places that are not that obvious.”
Huffington added: “You can have all those heads of state and major business people, etcetera etcetera, writing right next to an unemployed man from Spain, a student from Brazil. The great heart of HuffPo is no hierarchy.”
The new site will be run-for-profit though Berggruen emphasised that if the project doesn’t bring in money, they will still support it.
“We’re not in it just to make money,” he said. Neither party commented on how much funding has been put into the new online venture.
The Guardian reports that the site will be replacing the
Huffington Post’s current world section.
"Collaboration is the key, especially in the linked economy,” said Huffington.
“Recognising that you are not going to do the only good coverage. If you can bring your reader what other good work is being done, you improve their experience. That’s really what the heart of
World Post is about.”
“Culture is much bigger than politics. It will be about science, art. Anything that captures our imagination and our lives,” added Berggruen.
The
Huffington Post will be using locally-based journalists to create content for
World Post, as well as employing three full-time foreign correspondents in Beirut, Cairo and Beijing. It’s expected that more people will be hired.
Image: Paul Morigi/Getty 
