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12/22/2024 08:21:18 pm

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Huffington Post Goes to Australia, Next Stop - China

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(Photo : Reuters) Arianna Huffington, president and Editor-in-Chief of The Huffington Post Media Group attends a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos January 25, 2014.

Huffington Post is expanding in Australia, its 14th stop, through a partnership with local firm Fairfax Media.

Huffington Post Australia is set to be launched in the second quarter of 2015, capitalizing on the country's population of 23 million people who are digitally savvy.

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"Australia was always on our roadmap for the future. It's incredibly important for us to be there, and it was just a question of settling on the right partner," said Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor in chief of the Huffington Post.

Huffington Post believes Fairfax will stand as a strong partner both in editorial and operational aspects.  In an exclusive interview by The Sydney Morning Herald, Jimmy Maymann, HuffPost's chief executive said, Fairfax has "independent values, proud journalistic heritage, existing digital capabilities and strong commercial relationships" that make it a great partner for their company.

HuffPo's Australian edition will be patterned on the models set by other foreign editions.  It will have a 51% stake, a common feature in its international joint ventures.

While the company prepares for its Australian launch, plans to expand in China and Mexico are already waiting at the sidelines.

Huffington Post said, expansion into China will bring the company close to a giant market, a few western companies have been able to penetrate.

The company's China edition will focus on lifestyle content, shying away from controversial topics such as politics. 

"When it comes to lifestyle, which is what we would like to do in China, all the areas where The Huffington Post has thought leadership and very deep content... that's an area where we're getting tremendous interest in China and where we would have a lot of value added," Huffington said.

Maymann said, once they get the green light from Chinese government, the China Edition could be rolling out by the end of 2015.

HuffPo began its foreign expansion in 2011, which launched editions for Canada and the United Kingdom.

The company has also expanded in France, Japan, Germany, Brazil and India.

UK media groups The Guardian and the Daily Mail have also set foot in Australia.

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