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The ongoing tussle between George Clooney and Arianna Huffington isn't cooling off. It’s heating up.
This week Clooney told New York Daily News columnist Lloyd Grove that he's furious after his phone conversation with the Huffster. He said Arianna told him that all this publicity since his statement denying writing a blog for her Huffington Post website - a blog she compiled using several of the Oscar-winner's unattributed past quotes - could be "bad for his career."
But judging from the responses of Arianna’s readers to this incident posted on her site, it looks like it’s her blog career that may be in jeopardy.
Respected blogosphere denizens, such as the The New Republic's "The Plank" blog and web-guru Jeff Jarvis, are baffled less by her blunder in not securing approval from Clooney and his uberpub Stan Rosenfield than by her insistence that it was kosher to post Clooney’s quotes without attributing the sources, Britain's Guardian newspaper and Larry King’s CNN talk show.
“Public domain” is how she justified using his unattributed quotes in our March 15 phone conversation for a March 16 story in the LA Times Calendar section. C'mon. Every journalist knows they're not supposed to run quotes without attributing them. Writers have been forced to resign from major newspapers, including USA Today, when it was discovered they'd used quotes from other sources without attribution. And bloggers routinely link to their sources when referencing stories and/or quotes. It's not just ethical and non-copyright infringing, it's also polite and inclusive.
Arianna’s stubborn insistance that she did nothing wrong is raising hackles. And suspicions.
“She got caught because Clooney wouldn't let get her get away with it,” an inside source told me. “Now everyone is wondering if this is the first time this has happened. Given her arrogant reaction, she may have bull-dozed her other celebrity bloggers like this - used past quotes - and they've just kept quiet about it.”
And people are wondering about the other celebrity bloggers on her long contributor list that includes Walter Cronkite, Diane Keaton, Nora Ephron, Bill Maher, John Kerry, Norman Mailer and Chris McMillan, Jennifer Aniston's hairdresser. So if any of you famous folks are unhappy, now's the time to speak out.
On the surface, Arianna getting people to write for her site who know nothing about blogging, including etiquette and ethics, appears to be a generous attempt to include, in her words, “some of the most interesting voices of our time that are not already there.”
Gosh, how else would the voice of Larry David, whom she says phones his blogs in from a cell phone when he's on the set of his HBO show “Curb Your Enthusiasm, be heard?
But make no mistake. Famous names are also a huge draw for her almost 1-year-old blog site. And admitting that she goofed using unsourced quotes for Clooney's concocted blog might hurt business because it raises the issue that this is the norm, not the exception, on HuffPo. But that 's exactly what's happening with her staunch refusal to take responsibility for a serious mistake.
The bottom line on the Clooney/Huffington tussle is this: if Arianna would simply admit making an error and apologize - to Clooney and her readers - for not crediting the quotes, all would be forgiven. Of course, she should also promise never to do it again. Ever. Since she's relatively new to the blog world, it’s almost a slam-dunk that she'd get a pardon. Or at least a second chance.
Gosh, has the longtime political observer learned nothing from watching politicians such as Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George Bush, even California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger do that always winning “Admit and Apologize” act?
Photo Credit: Arianna Huffington and HBO's "Real Time" host Bill Maher, also one of her many celebrity bloggers, pose for the paparazzi outside Vanity Fair's star-studded Oscar bash on March ,5 2006.
(Eric Charbonneau/WireImage)
Being a conservative Republican I rather enjoy this spat between Clooney and Huffington. But like some others who have commented here I'm not quite sure how she became a celebrity. Perhaps the accent helps. And I wonder: Why doesn't she use her maiden name? As I recall, she divorced Michael Huffington long ago.
Posted by: T. Hibbard | March 20, 2006 at 06:24 AM
When did Ms. Huffington become a Hollywood player? i was suprised to hear of these career ruining threats. How would she do that? I only know her as a curious character who changes political sides occasionally...Does she have secret knowledge, or connections. Should i be frightened that i wrote this?
Posted by: Tuffy | March 19, 2006 at 07:40 AM
Today (Saturday) Arianna finally apologized... kind of... in that grudging sort of Saturday style that's used when elected officials acknowledge wrongdoing or fire special prosecutors. After reviewing the seven pages of enthusiastically supportive comments posted by readers to Arianna's blog apology, I also submitted a comment. Not mean or vulgar, but certainly taking another point of view that took her to task for claiming that her incedible lapse in judgement was, in her words, part of a "learning curve". Yeah, right. My comment, however, didn't make it through her editorial double-check safety net. And when discussing why this one comment might have been discarded with others while attending today's march through Hollywood, I discovered that I was not alone in having submitted disapproving posts to Arianna's blog and being summarily dismissed.
Ah, the joy and comfort of owning your own piece of the media... or at least polishing your allegded public blog site to a brilliant, self-serving shine! Would this have happened if I had been nominated for an Oscar? Say goodbye to credibility, Arianna.
Posted by: A.Thomas | March 18, 2006 at 05:04 PM
She needs to apologize for making it appear that Mr. Clooney wrote and posted on the Huffington Post. End of story. I'm not surprised by her lack of humility. Here is a woman who constantly berates the Democrats for being bad strategists (which they can be), but whose own run at Governor was an utter failure. If she is such a great political strategist why not manage or consult for a WINNING campaign? Answer: she is arrogant and thinks she has all the answers.
Posted by: anonymous liberal | March 18, 2006 at 04:28 PM
Even the far left base (well, half of it) was calling her out. Her post today about 'A Lesson Learned' should have been titled 'If I say I made a mistake will you forget my recent behavior?'
I posted on THP requesting a list of any and all previous posts which utilized 'the Clooney method'; after numerous tries and never seeing my posts but seeing many fawning over her 'honesty', I've given up.
Posted by: harkin banks | March 18, 2006 at 04:27 PM
I ignored the Huffington Post a year or so ago when I first heard of it -- a blog by the woman who seemed a bit strange during TV debates for the recall election?
However, the quality of the blog entries on the Huffington Post has been outstanding, when good articles have been pointed to by other blogs. I thought Arianna handled the blow-up with class and firmness, as reported by the L.A. Times. I was a bit surprised by this particular blog which seems to stand behind Clooney, when it feels that from prior reporting that he is clearly wrong and trying to protect his image.
Posted by: a rabbit | March 18, 2006 at 01:03 PM
Arianna lies, lies, lies, lies, and lies. When will it end?
Posted by: bill wilson | March 18, 2006 at 10:44 AM
"Every journalist knows they're not supposed to run quotes without attributing them."
Bit of a stretch to call her a journalist. Arianna Huffington? Please - at best a celebrity wannabe.
Posted by: Elaine Williamson | March 17, 2006 at 07:51 PM
It also seems that if you aren't someone who posts comments to the entries on a regular basis, you've got a 50/50 shot of getting your comment posted. I've tried a few times addressing Arianna's entries, only to have them never show up. Not exactly a way to encourage people to discuss the topics on her site. It's a shame too. I've been reading her site for a couple of months now and would like to debate the issues in the comments section, but I'm not going to bust my hump writing a well thought out response only to have it drift off into cyberland for eternity, never to be heard from again.
She used Clooney's name to get more traffic and then snubs the newcomers.
Posted by: Melanie | March 17, 2006 at 03:56 PM
I have long been a fan of Ms. Huffington's, but she is blowing it by being so stubborn. She is clearly in the wrong on this issue and should own it.
Posted by: Bill | March 17, 2006 at 03:28 PM
Arianna believes she is still in Greece on top of Mt. Olympus. The former debater has always had a high opinion of herself.
She needs to listen to some PR counsel and apologize.
Posted by: Ken P. | March 17, 2006 at 03:02 PM
Today she has a commentary by Jack Klugman that reads like a long COMMERCIAL for his new film-I get enough of this crap everywhere else-I don't need it in blogs...
Posted by: Lola | March 17, 2006 at 02:30 PM
Interesting in the fact that using quotes that are not hers, and not giving credit to the source, seems to be ok from Ms. Huffington´s point of view. However this just shows how utterly unoriginal and uninteresting she really is. But of course this is something that has always been apparant. I for one turned off the sound the first time I heard her and never watched again. Why anyone else bothers to listen I cannot imagine.
Posted by: gregory | March 17, 2006 at 02:18 PM
Unfortunately, this is real life, where you she take the test and learn the lesson. I don't believe she has learned anything. She has probably lost credibiltiy with her readers and "future guests."
Posted by: Paul | March 17, 2006 at 12:34 PM
"On the surface, Arianna getting people to write for her site who know nothing about blogging, including etiquette and ethics, appears to be a generous attempt to include, in her words, “some of the most interesting voices of our time that are not already there.”"
you are making blogging look like rocket science. basically, instead of bothering your golf buddies, relatives, etc. with your opinions, you are posting them on the internet. that's it.
Posted by: John | March 17, 2006 at 11:11 AM
So strongly was I dissapointed by the revelation and her later arrogance, that I removed her site from my favorites. I was a fan, until now. Not anymore. I don't trust her.
Posted by: Norm | March 17, 2006 at 10:24 AM
Two mistakes were made: first, someone in the Clooney camp made a mistake by granting approval to print quotes that were part of earlier television interviews (the quotes were rather familiar when I read them, and I caught on quickly). Second, Huffingtonpost made a mistake by initially presenting the blog as if George sat down and wrote it himself—this will indeed have bloggers questioning the authenticity of future celebrity blogs posted to the site—which is key in the Blogbizness. Ms. Huffington’s explanation a day later was a good gesture, yet it was obvious she was redirecting blame. As host, it is her responsibility to ensure the authencity of the blogs posted by her guests. A simple statement explaining the quotes were from earlier interviews, which Clooney’s rep approved via email exchange, would have sufficed. No need for all the back and forth bashings...
Posted by: C. Figueroa | March 17, 2006 at 09:42 AM
The Huffington Past (sic) failed to realize that its entire editorial credibility has been questioned. And that they failed to provide a credible response. Humility, not hubris, was required. To paraphrase a line from "The Odyssey," “You speak with art but your intent is dishonest.” Good night, and good luck, Arianna.
Posted by: TheRealIssue | March 17, 2006 at 09:36 AM