HuffPost Hawaii Will Introduce a Global Audience to Authentic Hawaii
The Huffington Post and Honolulu Civil Beat today announced a partnership to create HuffPost Hawaii, a site that willbring togetherthe resources of The Huffington Post and CivilBeat.com. The new site, expected to launch this fall, will give a global audience access to the wondersof one of the world's most famous destinations and the authentic community of Hawaii, including its Aloha spirit. The site will explore Hawaii as an oasis for unplugging and recharging. It will also offer Hawaii residents local news and perspectives, along with Pulitzer Prize-winning national and international coverage.
Arianna Huffington, chair, president, and editor-in-chief of The Huffington PostMedia Group, joined Pierre Omidyar, publisher and CEO of Civil Beat to make the announcement.
"When we look at Hawaii not just as a postcard, but as a community and a home, we see a split-screen," said Arianna Huffington. "On one hand, Hawaii is one of the world's major tourist destinations. Nearly 8 million travelers visited last year, a huge increase from the lean years of the recession. At the same time,with tourism dominating the economy, there's alsoa need to diversify and bring more higher-paying jobs to the state.HuffPost Hawaii will be telling the stories on both sides of the screen, spotlighting what is working and what isn't, and inviting Hawaii locals to tell the stories in their own voices."
Civil Beat will expand to manage the new HuffPost Hawaii site, while continuing to run CivilBeat.com as a standalone local news site.
"The Huffington Post is a perfect match for Civil Beat. They will bring new content to local readers through HuffPost Hawaii while we will focus even more deeply on what we started three years ago at CivilBeat.com - public affairs and investigative journalism," said Omidyar. "Our mission of creating a vibrant civic square and bringing more international and national perspectives aligns well with the Huffington Post's vision. At HuffPost Hawaii we will work together to provide a platform for ongoing conversation among those who live in and care about Hawaii, visitors, and the world, with the islands' distinctive voice at the center."
The Huffington Post will use all the tools of its multimedia platform to tell the most important stories about Hawaii and -- just as important -- help people in Hawaii share their experiences. Readers can expect a range of features, from slideshows of Hawaii beaches, guides to local attractions, and reporting on the state's schools and robust military community to blog posts from local residents on politics, food, fashion, sports, religion and more. HuffPost Hawaii follows the launch, earlier this month, of HuffPost Japan, and the new site will benefit from a partnership with our Japanese editorial team at a time when Japanese tourism to Hawaii is on the rise.
