Conservative-turned-liberal political maven Arianna Huffington has launched a website featuring, among other things, celebrity bloggers like Gary Hart, Rob Reiner, Quincy Jones, Walter Cronkite, John Cusack and David Mamet.
To her credit, Huffington seems to have made an effort to recruit conservatives such as David Frum and John Fund.
And there are signs that bloggers will sometimes address serious issues.
Washington Post media writer Howard Kurtz asks:
Will Huffington’s blog make news, or just be a collection of occasional posts by Very Important People who can’t really be candid without jeopardizing their lucrative ventures?
The best blogs, love ’em or hate ’em, have an unmistakable voice [or sometimes five voices]; this will be a cacophony of voices. It’s an open question whether the scribblings of the rich and influential can be as compelling as those of previously obscure people who are now online stars.
Of course the temptation to poke fun at clueless celebrity bloggers may be hard to resist– unless of course Huffington decides to add Harry’s Place to her blogroll.